


Little Dove

by nachocheese26



Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Kidnapping, Mind Manipulation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Whump, Poor Peter Parker, Stockholm Syndrome, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 19:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 95,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15396222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nachocheese26/pseuds/nachocheese26
Summary: She told him that she had saved him. She saved him from being killed. Because Tony Stark knew what Peter had done. And if Tony or any of the Avengers found him, they would surely kill him.





	1. Chapter 1

If it wasn’t for the pounding in his head, Peter was sure he could’ve slept ten more hours. His eyes felt heavy as he tried opening them. When he tried moving his arms, it felt as if they had been injected with lead. He let out a soft groan, trying to think back to the patrol last night. He couldn’t remember getting into any serious scrapes. A few muggings, some lost tourist, a couple of kids about to vandalize a car. An average night for Spider-Man.

 

So then why did he feel like he was run over by a semi carrying a dozen rhinos?

 

Peter finally managed to open his eyes and blinked away the blurriness. He wasn’t in his room. And this definitely wasn’t the Avenger’s Tower or Ned’s apartment. He brought his hands up to rub his eyes, but when he closed them into fists, he felt something flaking off of them.

 

He looked down, feeling a heavy weight growing in his stomach.

 

It was dried blood flaking off his hands. _Lots_ of blood, going up to his elbows and even his clothes (which he couldn’t remember changing into, nor did he recognize) were splattered with blood.

 

Peter stood on shaking legs, focusing on a door in front of him.

 

In the back of his mind, he knew he should be taking in his surroundings, attempting to figure out where he was and if he was in immediate danger. But the last time he had this much blood on him, Ben had died in front of him and he could’ve stopped it and he needed to get this blood off _now_.

 

The door opened easily and Peter practically felt his heart leap when he saw it was a restroom. He went straight for the sink, ignoring the built up grim everywhere and the smell that was no doubt coming from the toilet. He turned the faucet on, his heart stuttering with the water as it struggled to come out. But it finally came in a steady stream and Peter ignored the yellow tint to it, opting to scrub at his hands and arms to get the blood off.

 

Peter was halfway to scrubbing his hands raw when the water gave a few more spurts before turning off. The blood was now dripping off his hands in a watery mix. He muttered a few pleas with the water as he tried to get more water to come out. But nothing happened and Peter was left with his hands still dripping in the sink.

 

He swallowed hard before pulling his hands back and wiping them dry on his shirt. It was obviously not going to be completely white ever again and he needed to still get the blood off his hands.

 

With his hands as clean as they could possibly get, Peter stepped out of the restroom and back into the room. His heart was beating erratically, but at least his hands weren’t covered in blood and he could focus on figuring out where he was.

 

The bed he had gotten up from was pressed against the wall at the furthest end. There was a window on that wall and Peter walked the five steps it took to cross the room again, noticing a plastic crate by the bed that doubled as a nightstand. He knelt on the bed to look out the window. There was a house just a few yards away. He craned his neck to the side and could make out a driveway, several other houses, and a street with an occasional car passing by. 

So he was in a neighborhood then. Had he managed to get injured while on patrol and someone picked him up? If that was the case, Karen would’ve notified Tony before that could even happen.

 

Peter got off the bed. On the opposite end of the room, there was another door. He was careful with his footsteps this time, trying not to make the floorboards creak.

 

Just like the door for the bathroom, this door opened without any kind of struggle. It led out to a hallway, decorated with replicated art classics that covered the peeling wallpaper.

 

“Hello?” Peter called out, moving one foot out of the doorway.

 

Peter didn’t get to find out if someone answered him. As soon as his foot stepped on the carpet in the hallway, electricity coursed through him.

 

His knees buckled as he continued convulsing, his feet just poking out into the hallway.

 

Vaguely, Peter wondered if he pulled his feet in, would the electricity stop. But trying to control his movement while said electricity was still coursing through him was a big thing to ask of him.

 

Of course, there was only so much his body could take. The white and black spots in his eyes shifted more towards black. But just before black became the only thing he could see, a pair of shoes entered his eyesight.

 

* * *

 

 

Peter gasped, feeling his limbs tingling as if they were regaining feeling from being numb. Which was most likely the case considering he was electrocuted for who knew how long.

 

“Good evening, Richard,”

 

Peter turned his head to see a woman sitting in a chair to the side of the bed. He was still in the same room and the door to the hallway was open. He glanced at the woman, then back to the open door. He could make a run for it or wait for this woman to give whatever explanation she was waiting to give him.

 

“I hope your head isn’t hurting,”

 

Peter slowly sat up, wincing since his head did hurt with the movement.

 

The woman clicked her tongue. “A small, but necessary side effect then,”

 

“Where am I? What happened?” Peter asked, not knowing which question he wanted answered more.

 

“Don’t worry. You’re safe. I rescued you. After what you did, you should consider yourself honored that anyone would choose to rescue you,” the woman said, her soft expression darkening.

 

Okay, so maybe something did happen on patrol…and another person knew who he was now. Great.

 

Wait, but she had called him Richard.

 

“Um, well…thanks. But I should, uh…probably get going…”

 

She titled her head. “And where would you go?”

 

Peter hesitated in standing up. “Back to where I came from…?”

 

The woman laughed. “Oh, my little dove, you can’t do that. Don’t you realize what you’ve done?”

 

Okay, so maybe Peter should just make a run for it. The door was wide open and he could easily knock this woman over if she tried stopping him.

 

So that's what he did. He jumped from the bed, pushing past the pain in his head for the door.

 

But then the electrocution came again. Black and white spots danced everywhere and Peter could feel his body colliding with the ground.

 

It stopped before he could lose consciousness again.

 

Peter was lying on the ground, trying to fill his lungs with air and staring at the woman standing over him.

 

“Now, Richard, I thought you were smarter than that. You are going to have to learn because I will not always be here to pull you away from the barrier,” she spoke as if reprimanding a child for eating a cookie before dinner.

 

“T-thanks for…saving me, but…” Peter closed his eyes, trying to focus on his words. The electrocution was mixing everything up in his brain. “I have to go to my home,”

 

She shook her head. “You can’t. What would be the point of me, risking my life to save you, if you go back to the first place where he would look for you?”

 

Peter opened his eyes. “Who?”

 

She laughed again. “Who? Tony Stark,”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are great and thanks so much for kudos/comments!! And just for a quick clarification, this is obviously set before Infinity War, but after Civil War. Except Civil War ended nicely with everyone still being friends and I just want to use the characters and pretend Civil War kind of didn't happen, but it happened enough for Peter to be introduced to the Avenger's scene. Stuff will be clarified of course, so no worries. Anyways, enjoy loves!

Tony was going to _kill_ that kid the next time he saw him. He honestly couldn’t believe what he was looking at right now.

Actually, no. Tony took that back. He _could_ believe it. He could definitely believe Peter Parker was capable of something like this.

It stung more than Tony thought possible. This was betrayal at its worst.

The door to the common room opened, but Tony didn’t turn away from the TV screen. How could he considering what was in front of him?

There was a low whistle. “So…seems like the kid has some balls,”

Tony glared at Clint as he stood next to Tony. “I don’t doubt you encouraged him to do this,”

Clint scoffed, crossing him arms. “What? Me? Uncle Clint telling him to knock you completely off the high score list on Mario Kart? Why would I ever do that?  _Especially_ knowing how much it means to you,"

Tony rolled his eyes, moving past Clint towards the coffee pot. He had to occupy himself with something more productive instead of sitting down and replacing Peter’s username with his own on Mario Kart.

Damn that kid for introducing him to that game.

But Peter insisted it would help with making snap decisions in the real world as well as provide another activity for team bonding instead of just sparring. And as much as Tony hated it, it was starting to get harder and harder to say no to the kid.

Tony was sure he only brought it up because he was tired of everyone kicking his ass at sparring. So why not introduce something he was a master at?

But Tony was an adult with real responsibility. He flipped through his phone to see all the stuff Pepper had on his agenda just for today and it was so much work and would she really notice if he spent an hour or two on Mario Kart?

His phone started ringing with May Parker flashing on the screen.

Tony didn’t bother holding in his groan. Conversations with May Parker this early in the day was never a good thing. It either meant Peter came home seriously injured and didn’t tell her until she found out on her own because he wasn’t getting up for school or he was out past his curfew and May and Pepper told Tony to stop putting the conversation off and talk to him about that.

“May, to what do I owe the honor?” Tony answered, ignoring Clint’s curious glance in his direction.

_“Is Peter with you?”_

Tony closed his eyes and focused on his breathing before it could get out of hand. That phrase was on his list of things he never wanted to hear. “No. He left yesterday just before patrol,” He pulled out a Starkpad and to open the tracker on his suit.

May let out a shaky breath. _“Okay. Well, he’s fine. I mean, he has to be fine and it’s just…his suit is still here and so is his backpack and everything and I don’t…and I can't figure out this stupid camera and I can't see if he left!”_

Sure enough, the tracker on Peter’s suit showed up at their apartment. As did his phone, watch, computer, and backpack. “What time did you get home last night?” he asked, already moving on to look through the video feed he had installed facing the entrance of their apartment. The camera May was probably referring to. He remembered she could never figure out how to access the video feed herself.

_“Just a little after midnight. I didn’t check in on him because he messaged me once he came back from patrol. He said he made it home and he was safe and oh, God, I don’t…I can’t…”_

Tony glanced up and saw Clint walking towards him, the other man picking up on the tension and ready to offer assistance. “May, we're going to figure this out. It's Peter, I'm sure he's fine," He wasn't sure if he was saying it to comfort May or to convince himself. Tony paused as the video feed played through midnight, but May never showed up on the video. “What time exactly did you come home?”

May let out a huff. _“I don’t know. It was after midnight. It couldn’t have been after one,”_

The video played through the midnight hour and continued on through the night. But May never showed up on the feed. "Where are you standing right now?"  
  
_"What? I...I'm in the kitchen,"_  
  
Tony switched to the live feed. "Stand by the front door,"  
  
May started mumbling her protests, but Tony could hear her movement on the other end.  _"Where the camera can see me?_ "  
  
"Exactly. Are you there?"  
  
_"Yes,"_  
  
The live feed didn't show her. Tony felt his stomach give an awful flip. "Don't go anywhere. We're on our way,"

 

* * *

Peter was sitting on the bed, knees drawn up to his chest as he stared at the closed door to the hallway in front of him. When he was electrocuted the second time, the woman offered her hand to help him up. But Peter glared at her, sitting up on his own and pushing away from her until his back hit the wall. 

The woman shrugged. “If you insist. Make yourself right at home. You’re a smart boy. You’ll start figuring out the house rules,”

She left, closing the door behind her without locking it or being electrocuted. 

Peter stared at the door, wondering if he should try again. She went through without any problems. She didn't have any kind of cuffs on her wrists or ankles. But neither did Peter. There had to be a trick to it and he needed to keep watching her to figure it out.  
  
His stomach grumbled and Peter let his forehead fall against his knees. It had been too long since his last meal and he didn't know if he would get any kind of food from this woman. Would he even want to eat whatever she fed him? But the hunger was making it hard to think and Peter had to think. He had to figure out how to get out of here or at least figure out how to send for help.

He turned around to look at the window. His second escape choice. But one touch on the glass and he felt electricity coursing through him. He pulled his hand back with a gasp, staring at the window, then back at his hand trying to figure out where the hell those shocks were coming from.

Peter looked at the window, thinking that maybe there was some kind of wiring that went off when he touched-

As he examined the window, he rubbed his neck in thought. And winced as he felt a lump under a patch of raw skin.

Peter swallowed back a gag, realizing the shocks were coming from whatever was implanted in him. He didn’t want to think about whatever else the implant could do.

He kept looking out the window, hoping for some kind of clue as to where he was and could use to his advantage. A streetlamp had flickered on. If Peter ended up here right after patrol, that would mean he was here for almost a whole day. When he titled his head at just the right angle, he could make out half of a street sign. If he could see it, then they were close to an intersection and-  
  
The side door on the house right next door opened and a man stepped out, carrying a trash bag.  
  
Peter banged on the wall right next to the window, yelling as loudly as he could.

The man didn’t even look up at the window as he walked down the small space separating the two houses to leave the trash out for city collection

Peter yelled and pounded his hand against the wall, not caring if the woman came back. He had to get this man's attention. But the man was back inside his house, not hearing or seeing Peter at all.

The window had been at eye level with the man. It should’ve been impossible for him not to see Peter. Unless the window had a filter or a tint. Which would actually make sense since the colors he saw outside didn’t match up to what he knew outside to look like. But Peter had yelled at the top of his lungs. How could he not have heard?

Peter banged his forehead on the wall once before slumping down against the wall into the same sitting position as before. He resumed glaring at the door. Just for a moment though. Other things needed to be assessed too.

Like the blood that was still on his clothes and the random spots he missed while cleaning his hands.

He brought his hands up and clutched his hair, trying to remember what happened last night. How did he get here? Where was here anyways? And the _blood_. What the hell happened?

The door opened, interrupting Peter’s thoughts.

The woman from before stood there, her hands on her hips and wearing a stern expression. “I assume you’ve finished your tantrum?” 

Peter straightened. “Oh, are you talking about all that yelling? No, that wasn’t a tantrum. That was just me trying to get the neighbor’s attention. But hey, at least I got somebody’s attention,”

Her eyes narrowed. “You will not talk to me like that,”

“Whoops, sorry about that. Guess I forgot all my manners. Don’t you think it makes it kind of hard when I don’t even know your name?” Peter needed to get answers out of her. He just needed to get her to talk more.

“We aren’t at that level of trust yet,”

Peter scoffed. “’Trust?’ Lady, I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I trust you,” Peter said, with a hint of a threat in his voice.

The woman smiled at him. “No, that’s not what I’m referring to. I don’t trust _you_ , Richard. Especially after I found you with all that blood on your hands,”

Okay, this was something. Maybe he could actually get information out of her. “So you don’t trust me, but you still saved me. Besides, why would I need to be saved from Tony?”

“You seem to be struggling with some memory issues. Don’t worry, that can easily be handled. Maybe then it’ll make you appreciate more what I have done for you,” she moved out of the doorway and motioned for Peter to follow her. “Come,”

Peter stood, but didn’t move away from the bed.

She narrowed her eyes. “Come,”

Peter clenched his fists. The last two times he stepped into the hallway, he’d been electrocuted. Could he really be blamed for not wanting to go for a third time?

“Now, Richard,” she said, her voice dropping to a growl.

But still he didn’t move.

Her eyes flashed right as Peter felt a small jolt of electricity. He couldn’t help a small yelp, his hand reaching back up behind his neck for that raw spot.

“Richard, come here,”

Peter placed one foot in front of the other. His eyes quickly looked to her hands, but they were empty. He looked back up at her eyes, squinting only a little and wondering if it was a trick of the light that made her pale eyes flash like that or if there was something much more to her.

Once at the doorway, she turned and started walking down the hallway, the floor creaking with every step. “Follow me,” she called out.

And Peter did. But only because he needed to know where he was and what better way to find out than a personal tour by his kidnapper?

They walked down the hall, into a kitchen with old appliances and a beaten-up dining table pressed against the back wall. There was a pan on the stove with something simmering. His stomach growled again as he smelled the food. Sausage with onions and tomatoes and,  _God_ , he was hungry.

She was talking to him, explaining something, but Peter stopped listening when he saw a door. His mind pulled up the positioning of the window in the room to the side of the house, the walk down the hallway, meaning this door was probably a side entrance facing the house next door.

She kept talking and had her back turned towards him. She was at the stove now, stirring the food in the pan. She was distracted and he knew that even if he was weaker than normal, he could still move faster than her.

Peter took his chance. He ran for the door, his hand turning the door knob and-

White filled his eyes. He would’ve registered falling to the ground if it hadn’t felt like his blood was boiling inside of him and he couldn’t stop shaking and he was sure his heart was going to explode.

The electricity stopped, but then he felt something hit him on the side of his head.

“I saved you! I saved you and this is how you chose to repay me?!” Another hit. Peter brought his hands up to cover his head, gasping for air as he looked at the woman standing over him. He shut his eyes as he saw her bringing down a wooden spoon again. There was a white-hot flash of pain as she hit the back of his neck right on the raw skin.

A hand was pulling at his wrist. Peter tried pulling away, but another shock. His ears were ringing and she was yelling at him.

As small as the woman was, she was dragging Peter down the hall, giving him a shock every time he struggled against her. The shocks were intensifying, leaving Peter dizzy and breathless. He wasn’t aware of where she was taking him, but he did feel himself tumbling down stairs, landing on cold concrete.

He gasped for air, trying to gather his bearings and figure out where he was now.

“I wanted this to be easy for you, Richard, but you have left me no choice. You want to know what you’ve done? Fine. I’ll show you. I’ll show you and make sure you never forget what you’ve done,"

Peter managed to look at her standing at the top of the stairs, light shining behind her, before she stepped back into the hallway, slamming and locking the door.

Peter inhaled sharply as he was left in the sudden darkness. “Wait!” he called out, moving to stand up. But his lungs were struggling to draw in oxygen. He dragged himself along the floor until he found a wall.

It was too dark and too quiet and Peter had to get out of there.

A light switched on and Peter looked at the furthest wall in the basement. Something was being projected.

Peter sat up as it switched from a blank white to actually showing something. He recognized the scene immediately and his heart dropped. This was a video feed of the camera Tony installed in their apartment. No one knew it was there. No was _supposed_ to know it was there. But this woman had somehow gotten a hold of it.

Peter watched, noticing the time stamp was from last night. Or at least from the last time he could remember being home. Eleven thirty PM. In the video, he could see himself sitting at the dining table, his back to the camera and something in his hands.

He couldn’t remember this. He didn’t even remember coming back from patrol.

The front door opened and May came in.

_“Oh, fu-! Peter, you scared me! What are you still doing up?”_

Peter watched himself stand up and he could see what it was in his hands now. A knife. Bile rose in his throat.

_“Peter? What are you doing?”_

Peter could tear his eyes away. That was him, walking towards May with a knife. “No…no, no, no, no. That didn’t happen. That didn’t _happen_.”

_“Peter, what’s going on? Did something happen while patrolling? Peter, you’re…you’re scaring me,”_

There wasn’t a scream. Just a sharp intake of breath. And then a wet cough. And Peter closed his eyes and covered his ears. “ _No_! No, that didn’t happen! I didn’t do that! I would never do that!”

The video was so loud. He could hear every little gasp from May and panting from the Peter on screen.

“Stop! That’s not…it’s not true!” Peter yelled, tears spilling through his tightened eyelids. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. It was a trick. May was okay. May was alive. Peter didn’t do anything to her. Peter would never hurt her like that.

His yelling dwindled as his throat became raw. Only sobs escaped his lips now. The light from the projector was still on though. He could tell from even behind his closed eyelids.

He could hear a door open.

_“Oh, fu-! Peter, you scared me! What are you still doing up?”_

Even with his hands clamped over his ears, Peter could still hear it. He could hear her and the fear in her voice and the sharp breath.

Peter curled up tighter in a ball. “No. No, that didn’t happen. I didn’t do that,” he choked out.  
  
_"Peter, you're...you're scaring me,"_  
  
A sharp intake of breath.  
  
A wet cough.  
  
A door opened.  
  
_"Oh, fu-! Peter, you scared me! What are you still doing up?"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I be working on other stuff? Yes. Do I have other works that need updating? Yes. Yet here we are...
> 
> Enjoy this new chapter! I hope you have many questions and don't worry, things are going to be explained...at some point...

Clint was the one that drove them to the Parker residence. Tony had originally gotten behind the wheel, but when Clint saw his shaking hands, he forced him into the passenger seat and told him to start explaining.

Tony shared what little information he had. While Tony's hands were shaky on the steering wheel, Clint’s turned white with the tightening grip he had once Tony finished explaining.

With Clint understanding the urgency of the situation, the driving time was cut in half. But it was still enough time for Tony to start running a diagnostic of the security camera and for Friday to begin going through all CCTV’s in the surrounding area.

By the time Clint pulled up to the apartment, Friday had already scanned within twenty miles and was working on expanding the search considering nothing had come up. The diagnostic test on the camera didn’t provide any results either, even though Tony had done it five times now.

Tony only had to knock once before the apartment door swung open. May stood in the doorway, with red-rimmed eyes and chest heaving just a little too fast and Tony had to remind himself to steady his own breathing.

“Tony,” she breathed, opening the door wider for him to come in, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Clint. They had never met, but he came with Tony and that was good enough for her. They didn’t have time to go over introductions.

“Have you moved anything?” Tony asked, stepping in and making his way to look at the camera from it’s hiding spot on the shelf.

May shook her head, moving to the stove to turn down the pot of whatever it was to a simmer.

“Clint, check his room. Have Friday take a scan,” he said, tossing Clint a pair of glasses.

He caught it easily before walking to Peter’s room. May didn’t question how he knew where Peter’s room was. She kept her focus on Tony, easing herself into a seat.

“What time did he message you?” Tony asked, knowing May needed to talk to keep her out of her own thoughts. He knew he needed to do it too.

May pulled out her phone, her shaking fingers didn’t go past Tony. “Ten eighteen. Just a quick message that he was home and fine,”

Tony pulled out the book he had hidden the camera in, careful not to disconnect anything. “Nothing weird? Too many or not enough emojis?”

A humorless laugh came from May. “No, just the right amount of Peter emojis,”

Tony pulled out a second pair of glasses and slipped them on. “Friday, pull up current video feed of Parker entrance,”

May watched him, the dread growing even more as she noticed the slight narrowing of his eyes. “What is it?”

Clint came back out of the room. “Scans pulled up nothing out of the ordinary and there’s no sign of a struggle. Went ahead and grabbed his phone in case there’s any information on it,” he tossed the phone to Tony who caught it and stuffed it in one of his pockets.

Tony pulled the camera out completely, yanking the wires along with it. “Have you had anyone come into the apartment recently?”

“Ned’s always kind of in and out, but no one else. What came up on the feed?”

“Nothing, that’s the problem,” Tony growled, pocketing the camera. “What time’s your next shift?”

“Not until two, but I…” May shook her head. “How can I possibly go in right now?”

Tony grunted in agreement. “Don’t leave the apartment then and don’t answer the door for anyone, unless it’s me or him,” Tony said, pointing towards Clint. “Have you told anyone else?”

“No, I mean, I sent Ned a message to see if he knew something, but no. Should I even call the police? File a..." she pressed her fist to her mouth, trying to hold back a sob.

“We are going to find him before the police have to get involved. Okay?” Again, a statement he wasn’t sure was meant for May or himself.

May took a deep breath. “Okay,”

Tony gave a quick nod. “Clint, check the surrounding area for anything you think might be useful. Friday’s already done a twenty mile radius scan and is working on fifty miles,” Tony said, walking to the door and his mind already back in his shop taking apart the camera.

May stood up, grabbing Tony’s arm before he could leave. “Wait, what am I supposed to do? You can’t just…” she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I have to do something. You can _not_ just leave me here and not give me something to do,”

Tony understood. If someone else was doing everything to find Peter, what would that leave him with? He would only end up thinking of every worse case scenario. “Pick out some new cameras. Do your research on them and make sure there’s no chance of anyone hacking into them. Send them to Happy and he’ll take care of it,”

Everyone in the room knew Tony could do that in a matter of seconds with Friday if he didn’t already have a list like that complied somewhere. But May pursed her lips and nodded. It was something to do and it was much better than sitting around and waiting for news of Peter to come through.

* * *

Matt stepped out of the office, catching the last few words of the weather report Karen had on. She turned down the volume as soon as he stepped out. “Ready for the cold front coming in?” she asked. He could hear her teasing smile and knew it was because he was pulling on not only coat, but a scarf as well.

Matt grimaced. “Is anybody ever really ready to be cold for at least four months straight?” he picked up the box right outside their office door. “But at least I have this to help me prepare,”

Foggy laughed, coming up behind him and clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You have to understand Karen, Matt _hates_ the cold. Says he can never keep his feet warm and his fingers get all numb and tingly,”

“Well, when you have to actually read with your fingers, it kind of helps for them to actually have some blood flowing through them,”

“Oh come on, Matt, you’ve been telling me that since college. You didn’t get any blind man sympathy then, you are most assuredly getting none now,”

There was a soft slap and Foggy yelped. Matt smirked, pulling his jacket on. “Enjoy the sun while you can. Pretty soon we won’t be feeling it at all,”

He walked out into the street, still able to faintly pick up the rest of Foggy’s teasing and Karen’s laughter. He smiled to himself as he walked the familiar streets, turning at the appropriate spots by muscle memory.

It was a fifteen minute walk to the warehouse, making him just a few minutes early for his meeting with Peter. But the teen had been excited when Matt offered to train him and always showed up before Matt. Today was only their fourth session and Matt didn’t think the excitement would subside anytime soon.

But when he walked into the warehouse, he realized that it was empty. Matt hummed to himself in thought, moving to unpack and plug in the space heater he had brought. Peter was the one that had originally complained about the cold and Matt gladly agreed they needed more heat, especially as fall began changing into winter.

Never one to waste time, Matt began doing his own quick ten-minute warm up. Another advantage he would have over Peter and he would make it lesson. Don’t be late.

Five minutes after Matt finished his warm up and Peter still wasn’t there. He pulled out his phone, the voice assistant announcing no unread notifications. Matt spoke into his phone for Peter’s number to be dialed.

He pressed the phone to his ear and waited, hanging up as soon as the voicemail answered.

An odd feeling grew in his stomach. Even though he had only known Peter for a month, Matt knew that this wasn’t like Peter. He enjoyed the training and knew how important it was. Especially considering the way Matt had originally discovered him.

But maybe there was a school assignment that was taking precedence over training. Matt smirked as he considered the possibility that Peter might have even been grounded by his aunt

Either way, Matt decided that Daredevil needed to visit Queens tonight to make sure things were in order.

* * *

Tony had run about twenty diagnostic scans on the camera and nothing came up. He took it apart as soon as he was in his workshop back at the tower and still, nothing. No chip someone had inserted, wiring that was faulty. Nothing. And when Tony put it back together and turned it on, the live video feed was still showing the Parker residence.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that he knew this was a lead, Tony would’ve thrown the camera across the workshop by now.

Nothing was coming up on the CCTV scans either. Friday was able to play back video of a Spiderman spotting in the area just before ten eighteen, but nothing afterwards.  
  
There wasn't any new information on Peter's phone either. And even if there was, Tony would've known about it earlier. Okay, yes, before Tony gave Peter this phone, he had software installed that would essentially keep a duplicate record of everything on Peter's phone on his own server. But he never snooped around Peter's private information and only had it set up for certain words or phrases to trigger a notification to Tony.

Tony twirled a screwdriver in his hands, glancing at the time. It was just a little after four. School was out and Peter would’ve been out on patrol by now.  
  
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Those were dangerous thoughts and Tony needed to stay focused. 

His phone buzzed with a notification. A message from Clint. He was going to search the area a third time, but hadn’t found anything. He asked if Tony had come up with anything on his end.

Tony dropped the phone back on the table without typing out a reply. He didn’t want to admit that he had nothing. Peter was missing for almost eighteen hours and he still had _nothing_. Just a stupid camera that was on the fritz, but Tony knew there was something there that he was missing.

He hunched over the table, twisting the screwdriver to take apart the camera again. But he looked up when he heard the phone vibrating.

Not his phone, but Peter’s.

Tony almost didn’t look at it, almost sure it was Ned.

But he finally did look at the phone and instead of seeing Ned’s face on the screen, he just saw a name. Hell’s Angel.  
  
Tony didn't recognize that name. Just to be sure, he pulled up the duplicate record of Peter's phone. Hell's Angel was not on the contact list that Tony had. 

 

As soon as the call was send to voicemail, Tony picked it up and pulled up all messages and contact info on this Hell’s Angel, making a note in the back of his mind to corner Ned since he was the one that had disabled the tracker in Peter's suit a few months ago. He didn't doubt Ned had something to do with this Hell's Angel coming up nowhere in Tony's records.

There was only one message from this other person a month ago. An address, a day, and a time. Thursday at four. Tony typed in the address and found himself looking at a warehouse in Hell's Kitchen.  
  
He looked up the number and within seconds he had a name. Matthew Murdock. Defense Lawyer in Hell’s Kitchen.  
  
Only question was should it be Tony Stark or Iron Man that paid a visit to this Matthew.

* * *

 

Minutes bled into hours into days into weeks into years and Peter kept his ears covered and eyes squeezed tight. But the projection was so bright. It felt like it was burning his eyes through his eye lids and he could hear every word and gasp clearly. Over and over and over and over.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been when the projection finally turned off. Peter dropped his hands from his ears and peeked his eyes open. It was pitch black and his eyes would not adjust. But without his focus on trying to keep the sight and sounds of the projection out, he felt his body shudder and he realized he had been shivering from the cold this entire time 

_You’re scaring me._

Peter whimpered and covered his ears. The projection was off, but the words were embedded in his mind. He could still hear May, her words, her gasps

“It’s not real,” Peter whispered to himself, curling up even more for some warmth.

A door opened, but Peter could heart the difference in the squeaking of the hinges. This was the basement door. Not his apartment door. He opened his eyes, squinting at the light from the top of the stairs and saw the woman coming down with a bowl.

“I didn’t want you to have to see that, Richard, but you gave me no choice,” the woman said, as if reprimanding a small child. She set the bowl down in front of him, then turned back to sit on the steps.

“What did you do?” Peter asked, his voice sounding hoarse.

She scoffed. “Did you not see the video? I didn’t do anything. It was Peter. Peter was the one who killed his Aunt May in cold blood,”

Peter winced, his mind taking note that this was the first time she said his actual name. But she wasn’t speaking to him directly? “I didn’t do that,” Peter said, his eyes closing as he tried to block out the images of Aunt May’s face as she gasped.

“Eat your soup,”

In response, Peter’s stomach growled. He didn’t reach for the soup though.

The woman let out an exaggerated sigh. “I want things to be easy for you, but you are not letting that happen are you?”

Peter gasped when he felt a small shock course through him. It was nothing like the previous times, but after not having anything to eat or drink for who knew how long, it hurt exponentially more.

“Food is a privilege, Richard. If you can’t understand that, then you will have that privilege taken away from you. Now eat,”

Peter managed to glare at her, but this was food. And from the way she spoke, he didn’t know when the next time food would be offered. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, ignoring the way his arms trembled and grabbed the bowl of soup.

It wasn’t even really soup. Just chicken broth with crumbled saltine crackers. But it was warm and Peter was cold. He finished it within five minutes.

The woman smiled as he set the empty bowl down. “Now was that so hard?”

Peter didn’t answer.

“I don’t want to always hurt you when you don’t respond. It will only get old for both of us very quickly,”

“Really? I think I could handle it more than you could,” Peter said, the chicken broth bringing out his quips once again. Even if they were sub-par. A small part of him braced himself for another shock.

It never came though. Instead, the woman looked almost…disappointed. “I realized your memory was affected, but I just never thought it would be this bad,”

Peter tensed. “That wasn’t me in the video,”

She gave him a sympathetic smile. “You’re right. It was Peter. And Tony Stark is the one looking for Peter for what he’s done,”

“No. No, you’re…this is insane. This isn’t happening,” Peter ended in a mumble, clutching his head.

“Of course not. This is a dream. And that wasn’t May’s blood on your hands or on your shirt,”

Peter’s eyes shot down to his shirt, the blood staining it, the blood that was still on his hands, under his fingernails. He felt his breathing come in quick gasps.

_You’re scaring me._

He didn’t realize the woman had left him in the dark again. He only registered how tight his lungs were becoming and the whirring of the projector turning on again.

Peter stared at the scene. May coming in. The not real Peter standing up, knife in hand. The not real Peter wearing the same shirt Peter had on. The fear on May’s face. The blood. Everywhere.

“No!” Peter screamed, tugging at his shirt until it was off. He threw it across the room, feeling the cold even more now.

The video kept playing and Peter felt his chest heaving. He couldn’t breathe. There was too much blood on his hands, the shirt, on the video. He had to get out of there.

He stumbled to the stairs, half-climbing, half-dragging himself up the steps, ignoring the splinters that were burying into his chest.

Peter didn’t reach the door. Halfway up the steps, his body convulsed with electricity. Combined with the fact that he was already having trouble breathing, Peter lost all consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun had set an hour ago. The days were getting shorter and there was a nip in the air. But when May closed the curtains, she made sure the window stayed open just a little. Peter always liked coming in through the windows when he could. And maybe that's what would happen. As soon as she turned around, he would climb in, an explanation already spilling from his lips. And she would hug him and this entire nightmare would end.

She turned around and waited, just for a few seconds. To hear the rustle of the curtains, the squeak of the window as Peter opened it wider, the soft thumps of his feet hitting the floor in his suit. But she didn't hear anything.  
  
May wiped her hands on her pants, walking back into the kitchen where Happy was sitting, mouth moving in a wordless mumble as he read through the manual for the new security cameras. “Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” May asked.

“What? Oh, no…no, I’m good,” Happy said, glancing up and giving her a tight smile. He stared at the instructions in front of them, as if he wanted them to explode in his hands.

May took a deep breath, staring at the soup on the stove. It finished cooking hours ago, but May didn’t take it off the stove. She left it on low heat, making sure to stir it to prevent it from burning. She wanted it warm and ready for when Peter came back.

But in her stress and worry, she made double the normal amount. It would take her two weeks to finish it all. With Peter’s bottomless pit of a stomach though, he could finish it in three days. Especially since it was meatball soup.

She picked up the ladle and scooped some into a bowl. May was barely able to stomach a piece of toast this morning. She had to eat something, even if she didn’t have an appetite.

_“May, please. You have to eat something, even if you don’t have an appetite,”_

_May looked up from her bowl of mac and cheese. Peter was watching her with dry eyes. He had done his fair share of crying the last few days and it seemed like those tears finally came to an end. Hers too, but the feeling that accompanied them was still there in her heart._

_She didn’t feel like eating and she definitely did not feel like sitting at a table next to a chair that was not supposed to be empty. But Peter had the mac and cheese ready when she came home from work. So she scooped some up and took a bite._

_And just in that bite, she felt and heard the crunch of undercooked pasta._

_Peter looked horrified and if May looked close enough, there were tears building in his eyes._

_May kept her eyes on him, swallowing Peter’s attempt at cooking._

_“I…I thought I was following-"_

_May’s laughter interrupted Peter’s explanation. It figured, the first meal he try and make for her winds up completely awful. Somehow, her horrible cooking skills had rubbed off on him. And she kept laughing, her cheeks hurting after not stretching like that in so long._

_He joined her laughing and May realized too much time had passed since she last heard Peter laugh like this. “How about I make you your favorite? Meatball soup?”_

_His face brightened even more and he nodded. “Besides, it’s the only thing you can cook,”_

_May gently swatted his shoulder as she stood and walked past him to the kitchen. “Oh, coming from the boy who can’t even cook mac and cheese?”_

“I’ll, uh…I’ll go ahead and have a bowl,”

May looked up. She hadn’t realized she had zoned out. Or that her cheeks had become wet with fresh tears.

Happy cleared his throat, “If there’s enough,” he said, shifting in his chair as he switched between looking uncomfortably at her and looking uncomfortably at the camera and wires in front of him.

“Yeah. Yeah, there’s plenty,” May served the second bowl and set them both on the table.

May swore she saw a ghost of a smile on Happy’s face when he looked at the soup. “This is Peter’s favorite,”

It didn’t surprise May that he knew. It was the highlight of his week when May would make this soup and he made sure everyone knew about it.

Happy looked back at her. “He’ll be happy there’s some ready when he gets back,”

Going from everything May knew about Happy from Peter, she understood this was his best attempt at offering comfort. She gave a smile of appreciation as she swallowed her first bite.

* * *

Tony finally glanced down at his phone once the buzzing stopped. Another missed call from Rhodey. The count was now at five missed calls from Rhodey and seven from Pepper. He would answer them once he could give them a clear explanation.  
  
He glanced around the apartment hallway, before proceeding to pick the lock. He wondered in the back of his mind if anyone would even care if they caught him picking the lock. He lowered his head, allowing the baseball cap to cast a shadow on his face so he at least wouldn't be recognized if someone walked by. 

Tony dug up everything he possibly could on Matthew Murdock. He seemed innocent enough. Running a private law firm in Hell’s Kitchen that focused on helping underprivileged folks, legally blind since he was a kid.

But as he dug, he found some interesting internet purchases he had done. Weapons and body armor. What made it even more interesting was the fact that the records had been buried. Or at least, given an amateur shot at burying them.

It didn't take long for Tony to pick the lock. Considering this was Hell's Kitchen, he was surprised there weren't more locks to Murdock's apartment. At least it was to his benefit though.  
  
The apartment was empty, not surprising Tony at all. From the information he had gathered, he was making an educated guess about Matthew's favorite pastime. He did a quick sweep of the apartment, not finding anything glaringly obvious, before moving on to looking through drawers and cabinets and closets. There were boxes stacked in the bedroom of files, but they were all in braille. He put his glasses on, asking Friday to translate.  
  
It seemed like they were just old case files. Nothing of interest that would help him.  
  
Before he could get too far, he heard the front door open.  
  
"Hey, Matt, you here?"  
  
Not Matthew (or Matt, whatever).  
  
Tony set the files down and peeked out the doorway.  
  
It was Franklin, Matt's partner at Nelson and Murdock. Average man, nothing threatening about him.  
  
"Brought some beers. Oh, and Karen is starting to think you've got yourself a lady friend with these 'meetings' you keep sneaking off to. Not going to lie, I think she's totally jealous,"  
  
So the meetings were regular.  
  
"Matt? Oh come on, please tell me you're not bleeding out somewhere," Foggy mumbled. He put the beers in the fridge before walking towards the bedroom. Right where Tony was.  
  
Tony moved to hide behind the door while Foggy poked his head in for a second, then walked back out.  
  
He pulled out his phone, mumbling to himself something about Matt forgetting. His back was to Tony. If he wanted answers now, he would have to talk with Matt. And Tony was unwilling to wait any longer.  
  
With Foggy focused on his phone, Tony took his chance. He crossed the distance between them, ignoring the creaking of the floors, and grabbed Foggy from behind in a loose choke hold.  
  
"What the  _shit_?!" Foggy exclaimed as he pulled at Tony's arms and tried to squirm away. "W-what are you-who are...I swear, I don't know anything!"  
  
"No, but your friend might. Call Matt Murdock,"  
  
"Oh my God, are you one of Fisk's men?"  
  
Tony rolled his eyes, spinning Foggy around to face him. "Depending on the answers I get, I can be a whole lot worse than Fisk's men,"

Foggy stared wide-eyed at Tony, about to ask who he was again. But his eyes managed to widen even further. “Holy shit… _Tony Stark?”_

* * *

Queens was much quieter than Hell’s Kitchen. But Matt had managed to stop a few muggings and scared off a group of kids bullying a younger kid.

He never ran into Peter though or heard his ‘whoop’ as he swung through the air. He did hear talk of an Avenger roaming the rooftops though. Hawkeye, but that didn't make any sense. Why would he be patrolling Queens instead of Spiderman?  
  
Halfway through his investigation of the area, he got a call from Foggy. _"M-Matt?"_  
  
"What is it?" Matt asked, picking up on the anxiety in Foggy's voice.  
  
_"Um, well...okay, you are not going to believe this. I mean, I kind of don't believe it either. It's just like-"_  
  
_"Stop rambling!"_  
  
Matt tensed, as he heard someone else in the background. First Peter, now Foggy? "What's going on, Foggy?"  
  
Foggy took a deep breath.  _"Tony Stark is here. At your apartment. He, um...needs to talk to you,"_

Matt’s concern for Peter skyrocketed with this new information. "I'll be right there,"  
  
And despite not being as familiar with Queens as he was Hell's Kitchen, Matt managed to make it back in record time. He didn't understand why Tony Stark was at his apartment. Peter seemed adamant about his mentor not finding out about his dealings with Daredevil. But the sinking feeling in his stomach made him believe this had something to do with Peter and his absence from their training earlier today.  
  
Matt came in through the front door, changing from his Daredevil outfit to his office clothes.

“Oh thank God,” Foggy mumbled as he got up from the bar stool. “Uh, Mr. Stark, this is-“

“Matt Murdock. To what do I owe the honor of having Tony Stark break into my apartment?” Matt interrupted, extending his hand. Foggy's heart was beating erratically. It was best for him to not be a part of this situation.

Tony stood up and sauntered towards him. He didn’t shake his hand. “I want to know why you’ve taken an interest in _my_ intern, Peter Parker, and why the hell you decided to schedule some kind of meet up with him,”

Matt withdrew his hand. He could smell the fear and worry radiating off of him. “And I’d like to know how you even knew about that. From what Peter told me, our scheduled meetings would be kept private,” The ‘from you’ was left unsaid, but everyone in the room heard it.

Tony stepped forward. “And why would a self-respecting Columbia graduate have private meetings with a teenager?”

Matt held his ground and straightened even more. “Maybe because he needed to be taught how to not get himself _killed_ after a multi-billionaire entrusted a weapon into his hands,”

Tony lunged for Matt, but he easily dodged him. Tony recovered, pulling his fist back for a punch that Matt blocked.

“Oh, wow. Okay, um, do I need to call the police or Claire or…I don’t know, _someone_?!” Foggy exclaimed from the kitchen, where the two had forgotten about him.

“So you think that _Daredevil_ would be a better person for him to learn from?!” Tony exclaimed, finally managing to get a hit in.

Matt tensed as Tony made it clear he knew exactly who he was. “If that means he learns how to not rely on his suit and on his senses instead, then yes!”

Tony charged at Matt. The move took him by surprise and Tony was able to pin him to the ground. “Where is he?!” Tony demanded as he grabbed Matt by the collar.

“I haven’t seen him!”

“Don’t lie! I know your little meeting with him was today! Where is he?!”

“I don’t know!” Matt yelled. “I don’t…he’s missing, isn’t he?” his voice softened at the end, as if he was scared to voice his original fear.

Tony breathed heavily, dropping his hands from Matt to stand up. He scrubbed a hand over his face, staring down at Matt as the other man started to get up. “You didn’t know, you weren’t…you don’t have any information about him,”

Matt clenched his jaw. “How long?”

Tony glanced at his watch. “Almost twenty-four hours,”

“Leads?”

Tony scoffed. “Aside from a camera that’s malfunctioning in a way that should be impossible and you? None,” he pursed his lips, glancing at Matt’s split lip from the one punch Tony managed to get in. “Was he investigating anything out here?”

Matt shook his head. “He tried once, but he kind of got scared off. Part of the reason we met,” he said with a wry smile. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground, maybe there’s chatter about him going around,”

Tony let out a deep breath before pulling out a business card and handing it to him. “My personal number. Call me if anything comes up, _please_ ,”

Matt took it. “Likewise. I want to see him back safe,”

Tony moved to the door to leave, but not before mumbling a “Me too,”

The door closed and Matt heard Foggy let out a big sigh. Matt winced, knowing Foggy was now part of this situation. “So…that just happened. I mean, I don’t know exactly what happened, but…are we suing? Are we _getting_ sued?”

* * *

His head was throbbing. Again. Peter opened his eyes, wincing as the light made the throbbing worse. He squinted, letting his eyes adjust and opening them wider. He was relieved when he realized he wasn’t in that basement anymore. He wasn’t home, but this room was much better than the basement. 

_You’re scaring me._

Peter’s eyes shot down to his shirt. It was clean. No sign of blood. So then that projection wasn’t real.

But his eyes focused on his hands next and he could see small traces of blood on his hands and under his fingernails.

He gagged, feeling the chicken broth coming up. He stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the water, scrubbing at his hands, watching the blood go down the drain and his skin become red with how rough he was scrubbing them.

“Just like food is a privilege, so is water. I suggest you not use up your daily supply over something as small as washing your hands,”

Peter’s head shot up to see the woman standing in the doorway of the bathroom. He hadn’t heard her come in. And that concerned him more than the fact that she was here.

“Turn it off, Richard,”

Peter swallowed hard, keeping his hands under the running water. “My name is Peter,” he said, his voice coming out as a hoarse whisper.

Her eyes narrowed and Peter braced himself for a shock. “Even after you saw what Peter did to his Aunt May, you still want to be him?”

Peter closed his eyes, trying to fight against the images that flashed in his mind. The knife. Her gasp. He could still feel the blood on his hands. The way the knife felt when-

“No!” he snapped, “No, I didn’t…that wasn’t me. It wasn't...I'm Peter Parker,”

“Oh, my little dove. How often do we have to go over this? It was Peter Parker. And you are Richard,”

The water began sputtering again until it slowed down to only a drip. Peter gripped the sink, trying to organize his thoughts. He was Peter Parker. And he did not kill Aunt May. She was…alive? Peter shook his head. No, she was alive. She was alive, he never grabbed a knife. He never hurt. This was all just some sick joke.  
  
_You're scaring me._

He thought back to the night before he woke up in this place. The memory wasn’t clear, but he was almost certain he went home after patrol, getting in his bed like any other night. But then he was sitting at the dining table. How did he get there? And he was holding a knife.

“I hope you understand now. Tony Stark doesn’t realize you’re Richard now. He'll want to make sure Peter is punished for what he’s done,”

Peter shook his head, releasing the sink and pressed himself against the wall. “No. It’s not true. He w-wouldn’t hurt me…May is…” May is what? Peter whimpered as he tried piecing his memories together, sorting through what was real and what had only been from the projection.

The woman leaned forward and cupped his cheek. “Your food is on the crate. It’ll help make things clearer for you,”

Peter flinched at her touch, knowing he still had a bruise from where she hit him with the wooden spoon. But he didn’t pull away.

He watched her leave, trying to steady his breathing and pull up the last memory he had of May. Smiling, laughing, her eyes wide as she gasped when he-

“No,” Peter whimpered, pulling his hair as he sunk to the ground. “Not real. Not real. Notrealnotrealnotreal…”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for the comments!

May poked at the noodles she had ordered from the Thai restaurant around the corner. Out of habit, she had ordered two meals. And when the food came, she still set the table, as if Peter would climb in through the window, patrol over and his eyes heavy, but his mouth running a mile a minute as he told her everything that happened that day.

But a week had passed and there was still no sign of him. And the window stayed open, even though it was blowing cold air in and the heater was almost always on, trying to keep the place a steady temperature.

May never left the apartment. Because what if Peter did come back? She couldn’t let go of that. And she wasn’t ready to face the world yet. Not when the world thought everything was fine. Because no one except her, Ned, and the Avengers knew Peter was even missing. She called in sick at work and did the same for Peter’s school.

But after a whole week, the questions were going to start coming. She only had so many sick days and the school would want an official doctors note. And maybe she did search for information on what the process looks like when there’s a high-profile kidnapping.

At least she could stay holed up in her apartment, only visited occasionally by Happy and other members from the Avengers. They would bring her a few groceries or look at something in Peter’s room for a possible clue. At one point, she had Sam Wilson sleeping on her couch for a quick power nap before he returned to the search. But she could avoid everyone else and their questions of where was Peter and was she feeling okay and why did look like she just finished crying.

Ned wasn’t able to do any of this. He had to keep on with life as if nothing was wrong, a smile on his face when he knew his best friend was missing and not even the Avengers could find him.

It wasn’t fair and May hated it.

Someone knocked at her door. She set down her chopsticks to answer the door.

“Trick or treat!”

May didn't hear them. She just saw Spiderman, standing in her door way.

Before any hope could grow in her heart, she took stock of the Spiderman in front of her. He was the wrong height, wearing a homemade costume that looked like some effort was put into it, and his voice was completely different. Plus, he was holding out a bag half full of cheap candy.

“Sorry, no candy here,” May mumbled, shutting the door in the child’s face.

And somehow, she ended up on the floor, back pressed against the door, head pressed to her knees as her shoulders quaked with sobs.

May was grateful for the support she had from the Avengers, but they didn’t deal with the mundane like she did. And she couldn’t take one more moment pretending everything was okay.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the second number at the top of her recent list. Tony picked up after the first ring.

_“Everything all right?”_

May wiped her nose with a wad of tissue from her pocket. “Tony, I n-need…I can’t do this anymore, Tony. I have to file a police report,”

* * *

 

Tony drummed his fingers on the table, waiting for Rhodey to come in with May. When she called him, rambling that she was going to file a police report, Tony managed to convince her to wait, that they needed to talk it over first. There were a lot of things to consider and this wouldn't be a simple missing person report.

The door to the conference room opened and Tony immediately straigthend. But it was only Pepper. She sat next to him, sliding the mug of tea she held towards him. "You need to drink something other than coffee,"

Tony pushed it away, not putting it past Pepper to slip him a sleeping pill.

"And sleeping after this wouldn't be a bad idea,"

Tony glanced at her. "No, I need to get back to the lab once we're done. Vision's finally here and he's helping me figure out that camera,"

"Vision's a supercomputer, Tony. I'm sure he can do it his own for at  least a few hours while you slept and recharged,"

Tony didn't get to respond. The doors opened again and Rhodey came in with May.

It was obvious May had spent the last hour crying. She had very good reason to be crying. A week had passed and they still had nothing. But there was something different about her tears this time. It almost seemed like all the hope in her had fled. Tony wasn't sure what triggered this response in her nor was he sure he even wanted to know.

“Do you have anything?” May asked, crossing her arms and refusing the seat Rhodey offered.

Tony cleared his throat, fighting against the automatic defensive remark that rose in his throat. “Vision’s finally back. He’s been working with the camera for about an hour. Fresh eyes and a super computer should-“

“So then you don’t have anything?” May interrupted.

Tony clenched his jaw. “Not yet,”

May shut her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. “Tony, I know you and the team are working hard, but you have to understand, I can’t pretend everything is still normal. I just can’t and I mean, we have _nothing_. And I mean, maybe if people knew, the police knew, maybe…” she started pacing. “I need him back, Tony. I need to know he’s safe and home where he’s supposed to be,”

“Mrs. Parker,” Rhodey started, “I get it. You know, we are all working to find Peter and you want everyone else looking for him too, the police, the public. But with the connection he has with Tony and it’s bound to get out that the Avengers are looking for him too, it’ll only be a matter of time before people start making connections,”

“Do you think I care about that? I just want him home!” May snapped, uncrossing her arms and throwing them in the air.

“And that’s exactly what we all want!” Tony exclaimed, standing up. “May, listen to me. This is a bad idea. We aren’t doing this. Peter doesn’t need to be in the public eye like this. For his safety and even yours,”

May narrowed her eyes. “I would give up my own safety and privacy if that meant Peter came home,”

“No, you're not listening," Tony said, meeting May's death glare with one of his own. "This wouldn’t be the best thing for Peter right now and I don’t think you understand what that would even entail,”

“Tony,” Pepper said in a low tone, grabbing his arm to pull him back into his chair.

Tony shrugged her off. “Your life will never be normal again,”

“It stopped being normal the moment he came back with that spider bite and even more when you stepped in and gave Peter that damn suit!” May yelled. “You gave him that suit and took him God knows where when you first came and ever since you’ve come into the picture, I have worried that somehow, some way, he will leave me! He will leave me because of you and his idealization of you and…” May finally sunk into a chair, covering her face with her hands. “He’s gone now. He’s gone and I have no idea if I’ll ever see him again,”

Tony actually took a step back, as if May had hit him. He never realized that was what May thought.

Pepper grabbed Tony’s arm again, successfully pulling him back into his chair again. “I’ll go with you to the police station, help you file the report,” she said, looking at May. “And we’ll figure something out to make sure people don’t make connections,” this time, looking over at Tony.

Tony watched Pepper leave with May, head held high, but only he could see the slight sag in the CEO’s shoulders. Pepper was tired. They all were.

But none as tired as May or Tony.

Rhodey let out a deep breath as he moved to sit next to Tony. “She’s just tired, Tones. We all are,” he said, reiterating what Tony already knew. “And it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to get some sleep,”

Tony rolled his eyes, wondering how many people Pepper recruited in her crusade to try and get him to sleep. “No, I need to get back to the shop with Vision. Help him-“

“You can help him by getting some sleep. You’ve slept maybe ten hours this entire week. You’re going to sleep right now because by the time the news on this breaks, we need people seeing you at your best, Tones. They see you at your best and maybe then people won’t make the connection of how important he is,” Rhodey said, pulling Tony up and guiding him to his room.

“Boss, Vision has something for you,” Friday announced before Rhodey could get him out of the room.

All thoughts of sleep left Tony’s mind as he moved out Rhodey’s hands and hurried back to the lab. This could finally be the breakthrough they needed. Tony might even have to call Pepper and tell her to cancel the police report. Vision had a possible lead for them.

* * *

 

“How are you feeling my little dove?”

Peter opened his eyes and saw the woman crouching by the bed. He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep. He hadn’t meant to actually. He was trying to keep track of his time here, counting how often the neighbor went outside to take out his trash, the changing color of the sky. But sometimes it was so hard to keep his eyes open, so instead he based his time on how many bowls of broth she brought.

The bowl in her hands was number seven.

Peter didn’t answer her question. Instead, a few coughs spilled from his lips.

The woman gave him a pitying look. “It is cold in here, isn’t it. But there’s not much I can do about that. And you have been eating your food. It has the medicine you need to stay healthy,”

There was the confirmation Peter needed that she was in fact drugging him. But hunger was a constant state and every time she brought him broth, he ate it all. Of course he suspected there were drugs in them, but his hunger over ruled his concern.

And he wasn't dead yet, at least.

Peter sat up, ignoring the way his surroundings spun, and took the bowl from her hands.

She always left once the bowl was out of her hands, coming back to pick up the empty bowl while he was asleep. But this time she stayed, watching him as he ate.

Peter tensed as she kept her eyes on him, fixing his own eyes on the broth. He wasn't sure what she was going to do to him next, but he knew he wouldn't like it.

Once done, she grabbed the bowl from his and set it on the crate by the bed. “Come with me. I have something to show you,” she said, standing up and walking towards the door.

Peter didn’t move. The last time she showed him something, it was the footage of him and what he did and-

A small shock coursed through him a strangled sound coming from his throat.

“You know I don’t like to ask twice,”

Peter stood, trying to fight back the nausea as he followed after her.

She led him down the hallway, past the kitchen and into a living room. Peter didn’t’ bother looking at his surroundings. He was trying to stay focused on keeping his eyes open and one foot in front of the other.

She motioned for him to sit on a wooden chair she had brought in from the living room. There were two couches there, but she didn’t want him sitting on them. No doubt the couches were a privilege he hadn't earned yet.

The chair was positioned directly in of the TV. The news was on, paused on the anchorwoman as she started up a new story. Peter tried to gather all the information he could, date, time, location. But in the corner where that information usually was, the image was blurred. Peter blinked, trying to focus in on it, but if anything, it worsened.

“There was a news report that I wanted you to watch. I thought you would find it interesting,” she sat on the couch closest to the TV.

Peter watched her, her eyes flashing as she blinked and the news report resumed. Before his attention was completely on the news, he thought how strange it was that he didn't see her with a remote before the TV started playing the news again.

_“In other news, NYPD has teamed up with the Avengers in search of Peter Parker. Last week, Peter Parker brutally murdered his aunt, May Parker, the woman who took him in after being orphaned at six years old. Tragedy has already struck May Parker when her husband, Benjamin Parker, died a little over one years ago. Peter Parker was with him at the time and it is unconfirmed if Peter was responsible for the death of his uncle as well. Tony Stark has stated that Peter Parker is extremely dangerous. Avoid all contact and if seen, call the police immediately,”_

She pressed pause. Peter stared at the screen, his picture enlarged for the world to see. And Tony Stark was looking for him. He knew what Peter had done.

Peter shook his head. “No, I…I didn’t do…” he closed his eyes, shutting out the memory of her gasp, the blood, the look on her face. “That wasn’t me. I didn’t hurt her,”

“Peter did it. Tony is looking for Peter. You are Richard,”

Peter could feel his breaths coming in short bursts. He was trying to keep his lungs full, but the short breaths weren’t helping. He felt like his heart was jumping out of his chest with each beat.

_Peter Parker brutally murdered his aunt._

_You’re scaring me._

_Peter Parker is extremely dangerous._

“Richard, that’s enough! Just breathe normally already!”

Peter opened his mouth for a deep breath, but he started coughing, his lungs screaming for air and the coughs did nothing good for him.

A shock coursed through him and he felt himself hit the ground, his back arching and lungs still trying to find air. His vision was starting to prickle at the edges.

“Stop it, Richard!”

Peter curled into a ball, trying to focus on his breathing.

“You’re stronger than Peter, Richard. Peter was weak and cruel and hurt those he supposedly loved. So stop acting like him and breathe!”

Peter looked up at her. Despite his vision wavering in and out of focus, he could see her eyes flashing every time he felt a small shock. He closed his eyes and curled up into a tighter ball. And every thought he had was of May, dead by his hands, and Tony, on a rampage for his arrest.

The woman standing over him couldn’t be right though. She just couldn’t. And before the world blacked out around him, Peter tried to remember the last time he saw May smile.

Air filled his lungs just as he lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

“What have you got for me, Vis?” Tony asked, joining Vision at the work table.

Vision looked up and Tony could feel his heart sink a little at the perplexed expression on his face. It wasn’t often Vision found technological things perplexing.

“I have been running my own scans and examining all the hardware and I can find absolutely nothing wrong the camera,”

“So then why did you tell Friday you had something?” Tony growled.

“If you would let me finish explaining,” Vision said with a pointed look. “Since I could find nothing wrong, I began looking at everything that was working right. And this camera is working as if it had just come out of the box. But it’s my understanding that you’ve had this camera in place for six months?”

Tony nodded. “Did it after his aunt found out about him,”

“No matter how well you take care of technology, it will always show signs of aging after use. But not this camera. I created a direct link with the hardware and found something strange. It’s not exactly a virus, but it’s more of an illusion. Nothing like what Wanda does though. This was an illusion specifically created for technology,”

Tony crossed his arms, exchanging a confused look with Rhodey. “Okay, but that’s impossible. You can’t ‘trick’ technology. It’s all wires and hardware,”

“Yet here we are. So the illusion of this camera is to show a recording of the entrance to their apartment. Nothing more, nothing less, even if someone is standing directly in front of the camera or it’s moved to a different location. It is still under the illusion that it is in the Parker's residence. I can not clear the software of this illusion, but I have managed to push it aside to find the _real_ footage from that night,” Vision held up his hand, a hologram projecting from it.

Tony felt every muscle tightening. “Friday, the lights!” he called out, wanting to be able to see this clearly.

The hologram brightened in the dim lighting. He and Rhodey got closer, wanting to catch every detail. Vision was fast forwarding through the first few hours until they came to the time stamp of 11:29. Vision let it play at normal speed and right on the dot of 11:30, the front door opened. 

It wasn’t May that came in. It was a woman Tony had never seen before in his life. “Friday, run facial recognition. I want everything on her,”

Tony watched the woman, memorizing every detail possible from the grainy security camera. Graying hair picked up in a bun and  a thin mouth pressed into a frown. She stared directly at the camera and her grey eyes flashed, as if reflecting a light that had just gone out. Tony frowned, watching as she looked away and walked into the apartment. Vision sped it up by just a few minutes before slowing it down again as she walked back into view, this time shouldering a limp Peter out the door.

Vision closed his hand, the hologram disappearing and Friday returning the lights to normal without prompting.

Adrenaline coursed through Tony. _Finally_ , a face. He would have to call Pepper and tell her they didn’t need to file the report. With a face, they would find Peter in no time. He would be back and-

“I’m sorry, boss, but nothing has turned up in the databases,” the A.I. announced.

“And did you search all of them?” Tony asked, grabbing a seat and rolling up to his own computer.

Friday pulled up the searches on the computer screen Tony was looking at. “Yes. Nothing’s come up. It's as if this woman doesn't exist,"

"But she's right there! Staring at the camera! Go through surrounding CCTV's for that night. There is no way none of these cameras didn't pick her up,"

While Tony was busy running his own search, Rhodey stepped forward. “Vision, can you to send that footage to the rest of the team and get it in a hard copy for the police?”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. At least not yet,”

This caught Tony's attention. “Why not?”

“I can show people through my own projection, but I am unable to actually access this file and make it a physical copy. It’s part of this illusion virus,”

“Okay, so then how did she managed to do this. She just looked at the camera, it’s not like she pulled it out and messed with the wires or something,” Rhodey pointed out.

Vision shook his head. “I have not found an explanation for it,”

Tony slammed his fist on the table before getting up and pacing the floor.

“Tones, relax, okay? We’re going to find him, but you’re exhausted and you don’t have too many good ideas when you’re exhausted,” Rhodey said, approaching Tony was if he were a wild animal.

“You expect me to _sleep_?! We finally have something! I am not going to sleep right now! We have something and-“

“And we are still stuck. Yeah, it moved us closer to finding Peter, but we’re stuck and have to work through this next hurdle. Let Vision keep working on this, sleep at least three hours,”

“No, I am not leaving. Did you not hear May just a few minutes ago? She lost too much before I even met them. And you know what? Maybe she’s right. Maybe if I had never given him that suit-“

“Then chances are, he would’ve still gone out in those pajamas and things could’ve been a lot worse,” Rhodey interrupted.

Tony let out a frustrated huff. Rhodey had a point. But so did May and they finally had a lead and he was exhausted, but he would not stop. Not now that they had a new lead. “No, Rhodey. The only way you could make me is if you shot me with a tranquilizer,”

Rhodey seriously considered this for half a second. But Tony Stark was stubborn and he was sure even then he would find a way to fight off the injection to keep working. “Fine, but you’re the one responsible for telling Pepper you decided to go another day without sleep,”

* * *

Matt took a sip of his coffee as he walked into the office. Their lobby was full of clients and, as usual, none of them had any actual money to pay them. Normally, Matt wouldn’t worry about it. But they were now running into their third month of past due bills, this time with the threat of being cut off by the power, gas, and water company. 

It still didn’t make the top of his list though, as that spot was reserved a Queens-based webslinger. His worry only grew when he saw the news report two nights ago. His aunt finally went to the police and an AMBER alert was issued. The fact that she was bringing in the police now couldn’t mean anything good.

“Mattie, great, you’re here already. Cutting it kind of close from being professionally late and sloppy late, don’t you think?” Foggy said as he came in, closing the door to Matt’s office behind him. “Doesn’t help that you look like shit,”

Matt gave a grim smile, taking another sip of coffee. Patrol had run long last night. A lead came up on Spiderman's  location, but it was a rumor. “So who’s our first client?” he asked, changing the subject.

Foggy placed some files in front of him, Matt running his fingers over the paperwork. “Leslie Wright. Currently out on bail and is facing chargers for the murder of her son. But I didn’t come in here to go over the case first. I came in here to tell you there is no way we are taking it,”

Matt’s fingers paused. “And why’s that?”

“Because they have video evidence of it. She denies it, but she has no alibi and there’s the _video evidence_. There's no technicality or loophole we can work with, so we aren’t taking it. Okay? There’s no way we could win it,”

“Why don’t we just talk to her before we decide anything, yes?”

"Okay, but we are _not_ taking it. Please. Promise me you won't say we'll take it,"

"Let her in Foggy,"

Foggy gave a small huff, but poked his head out the office, letting Karen know they were ready. 

A few moments later, Karen came in, followed by Leslie Wright.

“Thank you, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Murdock,” she said, sitting down. “I’m sure you’ve already gone through the case files and looked at everything, but you have to be believe I could never...he’s my son. I couldn’t do something like that to him,” Leslie’s voice broke at the end.

“Why don’t you walk us through that day, explain what happened, where you went, what you were doing?” Foggy said, putting on his sympathetic tone.

Leslie began explaining her daily routine. Matt listened carefully to her heart. It was steady.

“And when I came back from work, he was...oh God, he was there and he wasn’t breathing and,” Leslie took a few shuddering breaths. Matt could hear Karen get up and grab a box of tissues for her.

And her heart beat stayed steadyt he entire time.

“Jacob had been missing for two months before. The police said he probably ran away, but not my boy. He wouldn’t do that to me. It was just the two of us and when he finally came back home he was...” she trailed off and Matt knew she wasn’t planning on finishing that train of thought.

“Was there anything to explain his disappearance for those two months? Maybe he didn’t run away, but was he involved in any kind of gang, owed money to someone? Was there any reason someone could've wanted to take him?” Foggy asked.

And that was when her heart beat picked up. “N-no. Jacob, he...;he kept his head down here and he always tried his best to not draw attention to himself,”

Matt titled his head. “Was there something in particular that he did that might possibly cause him to draw attention to himself?”

Leslie shifted in her seat. “No, well, he...,”

“Ms. Wright,” Matt leaned forward in his chair. “In order to decide whether or not we can represent you, we need all the facts and your complete honesty and trust,”

Leslie took a deep breath. “I did my best to make sure it didn’t end up on any of his files, especially since it never showed up on any of his medical records. Jacob had the X-gene, he was a mutant.

"I never really understood what it was he could do and I don’t think he ever knew the full extent either, but he could change the state of something. If it’s a solid, he touched it and it would turn to a liquid and vice versa. He never tried to manipulate any kind of gas, but I know he could’ve he wanted to. He was good boy and he would never hurt anyone and, God, I should’ve sent him to that school for others like him,”

“Did anyone else know about his... _mutation_?” The word felt wrong in Matt’s mouth.

“His father, but he left five years ago. He couldn’t handle it. He loved Jacob, but...it was too much for him,”

Foggy cleared his throat. “Ms. Wright, I would just like to address the video-“

“That wasn’t me!” she exclaimed. “It’s not and I have no idea how that camera did that, but I swear that isn’t me!”

Her heart rate was steady and Matt was glad he didn’t promise anything to Foggy before she came inside.

Karen was shushing her, and making sure she stayed in her seat.

Leslie took a few deep breaths, grabbing more tissues. “I know what it looks like, but I did not do this. I couldn’t...I’ll pay you. I swear, I will. I have...Jacob’s college fund, I was...”

“Karen, why don’t you take Ms. Wright out of the room while I discuss our next steps with Foggy,”

“Come on, I can show you where the bathroom is to freshen up,” Karen said, leading Ms. Wright out of the room.

Matt turned in his chair to face Foggy. “We’re taking it. We have to,”

Foggy groaned. “I knew it. I knew you were going to say that,”

“Her heart rate was steady the entire time. Well, except for when she tried to not tell us about the mutation, but other than that, steady. She wasn’t lying,”

“You know, I still don’t think it’s fair that you’re basically a human lie detector,”

“Come on, Foggy. She needs our help,”

“All right, fine. We’ll take it,”

Matt quirked an eyebrow. “You agreed pretty fast,”

“Yeah, well she said she was going to pay us and I know you don’t really think about it, but we do have multiple bills that are months past due,”

* * *

If Matt didn’t have a heart, he would’ve regretted taking Leslie’s case as soon as he was finally able to look through everything. This was going to be a hard one to win. But he knew she was innocent. The only problem now, was proving it. Especially with the video recording.

They watched it together, Foggy narrating every detail possible about the scene. Leslie dragged a limp Jacob to the hallway right outside her apartment door. She injected him with a drug, then left him there to die.

Drug overdose was the cause of death accorindg to the post mortem. But the report also mentioned electrical burns that originated from a wound on the back of his neck. There was no evidence that Leslie caused these burns and Matt knew incestigating how that even happened was where they needed to start.

Once they finally closed up the office, Matt patrolled for a few hours in Hell’s Kitchen. He needed to blow off steam and all the while, he listened for any word on Peter or Spiderman.

Nothing was ever said about Peter, but there was talk about Spiderman. That the wall-crawler hadn’t been seen in almost two weeks, making Queens fair game. 

Some of the criminals that were speaking like this were smart. With the announcement of Peter missing on the news, no matter how little information it had on the involvement of Tony Stark or the Avengers, someone was bound to make a connection. Matt didn't blame May for finally going to the police with this, but someone had to prevent the dots from connecting.

Matt could only come up with one solution for this and he hated the idea, arguing with himself that there was a better option, he just hadn’t thought of it yet.

Which led him to a roof in Queens, the building right next to where Peter lived with his aunt.

He listened and picked up the sounds of May walking through the apartment. From one room to another, pacing and trying to find something to occupy herself.

“You’re pretty far from your territory, aren’t you?”

Matt tensed at the voice. He hadn’t heard anyone coming up the stairs. Now there was a woman whose heart beat he could barely detect.

He stood and faced her. “I didn’t realize I had to stay in Hell’s Kitchen,”

“Well you are the devil, I assumed that’s where you belonged,” the woman said, taking a few steps towards him.

Matt clenched his fists, preparing for a fight.

“Relax. I’m not here to pick a fight. Tony already explained your involvement,”

Oh. So then this was one of Tony’s associates. He tried to remember who exactly was on the Avengers, remembering only two women. And he was sure only a trained spy could slow her heart beat enough to be undetectable to his ears. “Black Widow,”

“Any clues you’d like to share on Spiderman’s whereabouts?” she asked, standing next to him and presumably staring at the building next door.

“No, but people are bound to become suspicious with his lack of appearance,”

She hummed in response.

They stood there for a few moments in silence. Matt still listening to May puttering around the apartment and Natasha doing God knows what.

“Well I think you’d be a perfect fit,” she said, breaking the silence.

Matt frowned. “What?”

“I’ve seen footage. You’re well-balanced, land your flips perfectly. There were a few parkours you did where it really did look like you were climbing a wall. You would be a good Spiderman while we work on locating him,”

“And what about you? I hear you’re good at that stuff too,” Matt asked with a small smirk.

“Yeah, but then I have to deal with chest binds,”

“Fair enough. But how am I supposed to get the suit?”

“Follow me. I’m sure his aunt won’t mind meeting another one of Peter’s allies,”

And of course she knew that he knew Peter’s secret.

* * *

May paused in the kitchen when she heard the knocking. She wasn’t even in the middle of anything. Well, she was in the middle of trying to find something to do. But she didn’t think she could take another co-worker/neighbor/daily do-gooder showing up at her door with a pitying smile, a casserole, and a drawn out ‘hi.’

Only once since the news broke did she receive someone who actually made her feel a little better.

One of Peter’s two friends. Michele. Or MJ as he recently started calling her. Because apparently they were friends now and Peter was confused by her. 

“Hey,” she said with a little head nod and a clear expression.

No smile, no casserole, and no drawn out hi. 

May invited her inside.

“Ned was going to bring it by, but his mom picked him up right after school today and she’s been kind of paranoid since...everything,” MJ handed her a card. “Ned and I picked it out,”

May opened it and actually felt her lip move upwards a little. The front of the card was a caricature of Spiderman holding a bouquet of wild flowers and a balloon. There was a cheesy line inside about being comforted during this difficult time and it was filled with signatures from his classmates and small encouraging notes from them. 

She noticed that the third longest note was from a Eugene Thompson (the first and second longest belonging to Ned and MJ of course), but couldn't remember Peter ever mentioning that name.

“Peter’s going to be fine,” MJ said, her voice not having any hint of a question.

May closed the card and pressed her lips together. She didn't want to think about the new lead Tony had that still got them nowhere. “I hope so,”

MJ gave her an odd look. “But he will be. Because he’s Peter and he’s...well, you know,”

May tilted her head. She never remembered Peter mentioning anything about telling MJ his secret. “He’s what?”

A wall seemed to suddenly go up and MJ actually took a step back and looked away from May. “Nothing. He’s just Peter,” MJ looked back at May, the clear expression back on her face. “I can help with stuff, if you need help,”

And May sent her home with three casseroles, claiming that was how she could help.

But that was the only visit May actually appreciated and it was so late. She was sure it was after midnight. 

Before she could question who it was, she heard a voice from behind the door.

“It’s me. Natasha,”

May was at the door in an instant. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any kind of news,” she said, walking in and letting May close the door behind her.. 

May breathed deeply. “Are you hungry then? I have like five casseroles still in the freezer,”

“No, I’m here to take his suit actually. Part of the plan of keeping his identity a secret,” Natasha moved to the window that was open and opened it even wider. “And it would be a good idea if you met the person who’s going to be wearing it temporarily,”

A man in a red outfit came in. And for a moment, May’s heart stuttered, thinking it could be Peter. But it wasn’t and she swallowed hard when she realized who it was. “Daredevil,” she whispered.

“Mrs. Parker. Pleasure to meet you. Although I wish it was under better circumstances,”

“Right, yeah...um, let me grab his suit,”

May left them to go into Peter’s room. At the doorway she realized she hadn’t been in there since he went missing. She hesitated, seeing his room exactly as he left it. Textbooks scattered around his desk, a few legos on the floor, laundry spilling out from the hamper in his closet, his bed unmade, and the Spiderman suit stuffed under the bed, only a small piece of the red fabric peeking out in view.

She walked in slowly, as if scared to even disturb the dust that was settling. She pulled the suit out, careful not to move things too much and quickly left, feeling her eyes burning. “Here,” she said, not looking at them as she shoved into Daredevil’s chest. “Please don’t put it on, yet. I don’t...I can’t see you in it,”

He nodded. “I understand. I’ll return it as soon as I can,”

“Make sure it’s sooner rather than later,”

Daredevil gave another nod before climbing back out the window.

Once he was gone, May let out a small scoff. “Of course he knows Daredevil. Who else does he know? Deadpool?”

“Tony said he had him under the contact Hell’s Angel,”

May rolled her eyes. “Of course he did,” a fond smile on her face, but tears welling in her eyes.

“Actually, I should probably eat something. Are those casseroles still being offered?”

May wiped her eyes quickly, moving into the kitchen to pull one out, grateful for the distraction Natasha offered.

* * *

He was starting to keep count of his coughs now. In what he assumed to be three days, he had coughed twenty nine times. Maybe not a big deal to normal people, but Peter wasn’t normal. He hardly ever got sick after the spider bite.

But it was just so cold and he only had one blanket. He figured out how much water he was privileged to have. One flush per day and just enough from the sink to splash some on his upper body. He was lucky if the water was lukewarm.

And when sunlight actually streamed in through the filtered window, it was only on one spot high up on the wall by the ceiling.

Peter stared at that spot as he laid on the bed. It had been days since the sunlight actually made it through the clouds. He almost wanted to cry, thinking of how warm a spot of sunshine could feel.

Without thinking, he got up from the bed and crawled up the wall. Once in the sunspot, he turned around with his back pressed against the wall and letting his body eat up the muted sunshine.

It wasn’t as warm as he remembered, but it was so much better than his bed by the window. He closed his eyes, wishing he could somehow bottle it up and keep it close to his chest as the days continued growing colder.

He never heard the door open. He just heard her yell.

“Richard! Get down from there!”

His eyes flew open and before he could scramble down on his own, he fell, feeling electricity run through his body like the very first time he stepped foot out the door on his own. Peter let out a cry when he hit the ground, feeling a new pain on top of the electricity. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew it was coming from his wrist and it _hurt_.

“What are you thinking, Richard?! That isn’t something _you_ do! That is what Peter Parker did!”

The electricity stopped, but her shoe connected with his side and his wrist was burning as if someone drilled several nails through it.

“Peter Parker did reckless things like that! He had no control!”

Another kick to his side and cough thirty, thirty one, thirty two, thirty three, left his lungs. 

“No control at all! He was impulsive and cruel! Why do you think Tony Stark is out for his blood for the murder of May?!”

Peter curled into a ball, trying to protect himself from her kicks. 

When she finally stopped, she crouched down in front of him. “Who do you want to be?” she asked.

Peter cradled his wrist, only half realizing that the reason why it hurt was because it was twisted at an unnatural angle, broken. “I’m Peter,” he whispered, a few tears falling from his eyes, a combination of the pain and the memories of May’s gasp and the announcement of Tony Stark wanting him arrested.

She shook her head. “My little dove, when will you learn?” her voice quickly changing to one of sympathy.

She didn't offer him any comfort though and Peter was left with the confusing thought of was that a good or bad thing. She walked out after a few moments. Peter took several deep breaths, trying to breathe through the pain coming from his wrist and now his ribs.

He started rocking, trying to keep his mind off the pain and began whispering to himself. “I’m Peter Parker. I’m Peter Parker. I’m Peter Parker. I’m Peter Parker,”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! and Just wanted to tell you lovely readers, the next chapter coming up...oh man, I am excited for it and I'm halfway done writing it...but I sincerely hope you enjoy this one as things and clues are slowly falling into place!

Tony lost track of how many times he ran this woman’s face through all the records and databases and security footage . Nothing came up. It was as if this woman didn’t exist. Which was impossible. He saw her. He saw her come in, do some weird computer voodoo, then take Peter.  
  
While they were on their way to the police station, Tony called Pepper to explain the new development. She asked if they should turn around and forget about the police report. But at that point, Friday had scanned the databases five times and nothing was coming up.  
  
He told her to go ahead, but have May come back to look at it,  hopefully  she might recognize the woman.

She didn’t.

“This was the woman that took him?” May asked after staring at the hologram from Vision’s palm for a few moments.

Tony nodded.

With her eyes still red from tears shed  previously  that evening, she looked at Tony with a renewed fire. “I don’t care what it takes, find her and bring him back home,”

But another full day passed and neither Tony or Vision could figure out how to pass on the image to the public or even who she was .

He tried taking a picture of the hologram, but each time, the photo would come back blank. Vision couldn’t explain it, meaning Tony understood it much less.

They only had one option left. Bring someone in to sketch the image. It wouldn’t be clear like Vision’s hologram, but it would be better than nothing.

And as much as he hated it, there was only one person Tony would trust with something like this.

Steve Rogers.  Former war hero, recently pardoned war criminal, currently the estranged uncle of the Avengers .

Ever since the Accords and the  subsequent  pardon, Tony and Steve’s relationship  was strained  to say the least . But it wasn’t so strained that Steve didn’t somehow get involved with the search for Peter.

Tony knew that if he asked Steve, he would drop everything and do the sketch for them.

Steve answered on the second ring. _“Tony, any updates on the woman?”_

Tony clenched and unclenched his fist. “No. We’re still working on it,” Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn’t remember the last time he asked Steve for help. But this was for Peter. He would do anything to get him back. “I need your help actually. How soon can you be here?”

_“I’m already on my way. Give me half an hour tops,”_  

* * *

Nelson and Murdock was closing for two days for Thanksgiving.  So of course the last day the office was open, Matt and Foggy were there past midnight, take out boxes filling the floor to make room for the papers scattered on the table .

Any other day and Karen would’ve joined them in burning the midnight oil. But tomorrow was Thanksgiving and she was already on her way to spend time with her family.

Without her presence though, Matt was able to point out things that would leave Karen questioning how he knew this stuff and Foggy could berate him for not taking better care of himself . Especially in things like getting enough sleep. But when it came to cases Foggy spent as much time awake as Matt did.

Like now with the case of Leslie Wright. Her trial started next Monday and they were definitely not prepared.

Foggy massaged his forehead, hoping it would stimulate new thoughts. “They’re going to try and prove she knew where he was this entire time.  So I was thinking what if we run an ad in the newspaper or something asking if anyone had seen him during the time he was missing ?”

“That is a stretch and you know it. Besides, there was only one call in for him while he was missing and it turned out to be false lead,”

Foggy flipped through some papers. “Oh yeah. Terrence Suarez. Happened to see the neighbors kid and thought it was Jacob. Police followed up, but well,  obviously  it wasn’t Jacob,”

Matt pursed his lip a new thought coming to him. “But what if the kid was covering for Jacob? Could that be a possibility?”

“Huh, hadn’t thought about that. Um…the neighbor’s name is Yvonne Blakewell. Let’s see what kind of information I can get on…” Foggy’s typing  suddenly  stopped.

“Foggy? What is it?”

“Nothing’s showing up. Like  absolutely  nothing. Not even the statement she gave to the police when they thought Jacob was in her house,”

“No, that can’t be right. He name is right here in the paperwork, so it has to be on their system,”

“Nope. Nothing," Foggy let out an annoyed breath, pushing his computer aside. " Apparently , they have a glitch in their system,”

The idea didn’t sit well with Matt.

Foggy leaned back in his chair. “So another dead end,”

Matt didn’t believe that. But he didn’t voice it either. He needed to sort through his thoughts and figure out exactly why it didn’t sit well with him.

“When’s the last time you slept?”

Matt shook himself a little. “What?”

“Matt, those bags under your eyes are like full-on suitcases now. You’re not sleeping again,”

And here comes the berating. "Neither are you," Matt pointed out, hoping it would get him out of a Nelson lecture.

Foggy scoffed. "Yeah, well, I don't like you.  Not even your glasses can hide how tired you look," he paused for a moment and Matt actually hoped that was the end of the conversation .

“Does this have anything to do with Peter Parker?” Foggy asked.

Matt bit the inside of his cheek.  Foggy never brought up the night that Tony Stark came into his apartment to accuse him of kidnapping Peter  .  Not even when the news and AMBER alert reported his case or when a sketch of the ‘suspected’ woman who kidnapped him came out .

Between patrolling as Daredevil and doing at least one save in the Spiderman suit twice a week and actually looking for the real Spiderman, Matt’s sleep schedule  was ruined  and he knew it would  eventually  take a toll on him . Karen, the A.I. in the suit, was reminding him of this for the last few nights.

Matt made a mental note to ask Stark how to turn it off.

“Yeah, it does,”

And he wasn’t going to say anything else and he knew Foggy wasn’t going to press anymore.

“Look, I don’t know what’s so special about this kid that Tony Stark and the Avengers and you are out looking for him, but with a search party like that, of course you’ll find him,”

Matt didn’t want to mention that Peter shouldn’t have gone missing in the first place. “Thanks Foggy,”

“Right, well, we are both exhausted and I’m ready for bed and I’m sure you’re ready to go out on patrol, even though  I think  you should  really  get some rest, so let’s  just  call it night . Pick it back up on Saturday?”

“Sounds good,” Matt said, knowing well enough that both he and Foggy were too dedicated to this work to actually take a break from it  just  because it was a holiday . 

* * *

Something happened and she was angry. Peter could tell with the way her footsteps echoed in the house.

It was because of what he did. It had to be. He hadn’t moved from where he had fallen, his ribs protesting and his wrist still swollen and twisted at an odd angle. And when she brought the broth with saltine crackers in, she didn’t place it on the crate anymore. She dropped it on the floor in front of him, not looking at him or caring that the majority of it spilled from the bowl.

And she wouldn’t look at him and Peter couldn’t explain why he wanted her to at least look at him.

The cold was a constant now, but the sweat covering him was new.  His mind was  oddly  fuzzy, thoughts swirling around May and his lack of control and what Tony would do if he ever found him. But when Peter noticed the sweat, he started to think that  maybe  he was getting sick.

 

If May knew he was sick, she would open two cans of chicken noodle soup and have him eat as much as he could, all the while sitting across from him and trying not to look like she was ready to spoon feed him if he asked  .  And when he finished, she would lay a damp rag on his forehead, make him a cinnamon tea, and sit with him on the couch as they watched whatever show he wanted .

“Why are you smiling?”

Peter opened his eyes. She  was crouched  in front of him, a glare on her face, and…her hair was blonde now? And when did she start wearing glasses?

Out of habit, Peter tried getting up. But he put pressure on his injured wrist and he collapsed back to the ground with a yelp.

He wasn’t smiling anymore.

“You wouldn’t be going through  all of  this if you had  just  behaved like the good boy you’re supposed to be. You know better, Richard,”

“I’m not…not Richard,” Peter said, his voice hoarse after not saying anything for who knew how long.

Her eyes narrowed and Peter flinched waiting for the electrocution to come.

But it never did.

Instead, a cup  was pressed  to his lips and a sticky liquid dripped down his throat.

Peter coughed and gagged at the taste, but before he could figure out what it was, more of it was filling his throat again . It was that second dose that he realized what it was. Daytime cold medicine.

The woman stood up again and tossed him a hoodie and a pair of boots. “Get up. We’re leaving,” 

* * *

“Tony? Baby, wake up,”

Tony’s head shot up, gasping for a moment as he took in his surroundings and the wisps of whatever nightmare he  was pulled  from disappeared  .  “Pepper, hey,” Tony said, choosing to look at his workstation instead of her, hoping to  quickly  pick up where he left off .

“Anything?” she asked.

He grabbed up a screwdriver and twirled it out of habit. “No,” he said, finally looking up at her.

And his eyes widened a little as he took her in. She was wearing a beautiful cocktail dress, a burgundy, the color that he loved on her and she knew it. Her hair  was pinned  up and she wore her fancy jewelry tonight. Or at least he assumed it was nighttime.

“It’s the annual SI Thanksgiving Gala tonight,” Pepper said with a slight shrug as she noticed his stare. “I don’t have to leave yet. In case you were thinking of joining me?”

Tony closed his eyes and swore. Today was Thanksgiving. And they still hadn’t found Peter.

His heart sunk as he realized May was spending Thanksgiving alone. Last year was the first year without Ben, now this year…

The chair clattered to the ground as he stood  abruptly . “Pep, I’m sorry, I can’t. I can’t go to this thing, not when Peter’s still out there and May, she’s-“  
  
“It’s all right, Tony. I  honestly  didn’t expect you to come. But people have noticed you haven’t left the compound.  They’re asking questions and wondering why the face of Stark Industries hasn’t made a public appearance since the disappearance of a high school intern,”

“Let them ask,” Tony growled as he looked through his phone and checked for updates from the team on the search. Nothing. And he wondered if they were even out today since it was Thanksgiving. “Besides, I was, um, going to visit May for a little bit. Work on finding Peter there for a while… just  so she knows,”

Pepper let out a heavy sigh, pressing a kiss to Tony’s cheek. “I’ll try and join you and May after the gala. I love you, Tony,”

“Love you, too, Pep,”

He watched her leave, not looking back at his workstation until she was gone.

It was mess of papers and tools and disassembled cameras. He couldn’t even remember what his thought process had been before he had dozed off. “Friday, how long was I asleep?”

“Approximately five hours, boss,”

Well, that explained why his neck hurt so  badly  .  And as much as he wanted to hate himself for sleeping and  possibly  wasting those five hours, part of him knew he wouldn’t have made any kind of breakthrough  .  There was  literally  nothing and now he was only distracting himself from the growing hopelessness inside of him .

But he was going to May’s and he needed those feelings to stay masked.

* * *

May hated that she had a new routine. She convinced her manager to keep her on the night shift. She went in at five in the evening and didn’t come back home until four in the morning. Sometimes Happy picked her up, other times Clint or Natasha took the train with her. And on the nights when she was alone, she would catch the shadow of a horned man keeping watch from the rooftops.

Once home, she would call out for Peter, wait a few moments in silence, then go to the medicine cabinet and take some of the anti-depressants she had left over from when Ben died . They were close to expiring and she was running out anyways. Almost time to get the prescription refilled.

She would change into pajamas and sleep until noon, get up pick at some of the casseroles, receive an update from one of the Avengers and try to occupy her time until it was time to leave for work again  . Somewhere  in between  all that, she would take another dose of anti-depressants.

With this schedule, she was able to avoid the looks of pity from neighbors and the visits from well-wishers  .  May was sure she would strangle the next person who came up to her and said a prolonged ‘hi.’ And enough time had passed for them to move on to the next pity case .

But that didn’t stop her from crying when she realized it was the first time in almost ten years her schedule wasn’t made to revolve around Peter .

May thought that once she went to the police, it would be easier. She didn’t have to pretend to have it all together, more people would know and would be looking for him. But aside from finally having a grainy image of a face, they had nothing. And even then they weren’t able to get far with that.

They had a sketch of the woman out there now, thanks to Steve. But even then, there hadn’t been any kind of calls coming in.

One step forward, two steps back.

And Thanksgiving was here and May tried convincing her shift manager to give her a double shift, let her work through the day and forget what day it was . But instead of doing that, she gave May the whole day off. To rest and spend time with her family.

How could she tell her that the only family she had left was missing?

May didn’t even want to get out of bed that day and even the medicine cabinet in the kitchen with the anti-depressants seemed too far away .

At ten, someone was knocking. May waited a few moments for them to leave, but a few moments later, they started knocking again. It didn’t seem like they were going anywhere.

So with a small huff, May got out of bed and looked through the peephole before opening the door.

Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, standing in her doorway with a bag of take out.

“We wanted to take a quick breakfast break and we were in the neighborhood, so thought, might as well,” Sam said with a cautious smile . “Hope you like strawberry crepes,”

May knew what they were doing, but she didn’t say anything. She let them in and settled into the dining table with them. There was light conversation and no pitying looks. Only when they were walking out the door an hour later did they say anything about the search.

“We have a face, May. Remember that. People will see her and they’ll recognize her. You have to remember that,” Steve said, looking her  evenly  in the eye.

May nodded, attempting a smile for the war hero.

And her day continued like that. She would lie in bed, trying not to think, when someone would knock. 

Happy came, bringing lunch from his favorite pizza joint that  just  so happened to  be opened  today.  Natasha brought leftovers from Clint’s wife, only mentioning it was from a family meal and nothing more  .  Even Vision and Wanda came, bringing a tub of ice cream and Wanda insisting on watching an episode of Project Runway because Peter mentioned it once that it was May's favorite and Vision had never seen it before .

Before she realized it, it had become dark outside and getting closer to an  socially  acceptable hour for her to go to sleep and end this day .

And May found herself wondering when the Avenger’s had become part of her family as Tim Gunn spoke in the background for the desginers to 'make it work .'

As she was considering getting ready for bed, there was another knock at the door. This time, she didn’t hesitate in going, checking first to see who it was.

It was Tony and he looked almost as disheveled as she was sure she looked. But he had a bottle of wine and May was glad for a moment she hadn’t taken her anti-depressants yet.

“Needed a change of scenery for a bit. Hope you don’t mind,”

“Not at all,” May said, opening the door wider for him to come in.

Tony settled on the couch while May poured two glasses of wine, joining him a moment later.  She handed him a glass and kept one for herself and without saying anything, Tony pulled out his phone to work while May continued her binge of Project Runway .

Three episodes later, Tony was rubbing his eyes, reaching for the wine bottle to pour himself more only to find it empty . “I should tell Pepper to bring some,” he said, already typing and sending out the message to her.

“She’s on her way?” May asked, stifling a yawn.  
  
"Unless you’re too tired,”

May shook her head. “I don’t go back in until tomorrow evening. I can sleep in,”

Tony took it as a good sign. She wasn’t isolating herself. Peter had mentioned once she struggled with that when Ben died.

May mumbled something about using the restroom.  Apparently  she had eaten more than she  normally  did that day and her stomach was rebelling. Tony had noticed the boxes and containers of food left out, wondering if the team had the same idea.

He typed out a quick search on his phone, trying to find this woman in a database somewhere, when he heard the front door open . “Pepper, that you? Did you get my message about the wine?”

There wasn’t an answer.

Tony set his phone down and turned around on the couch to see who it was. And all the air left his lungs and his stomach flipped. “ _Peter?_ ”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the chapter that I have been dying to write and it's finally out for you readers to read! Slightly nervous, but well, here it is! And the mystery continues to unfold...

The hoodie was too big for him, but it provided so much more warmth than his t-shirt. And the boots were too small, but they were lined with wool and Peter couldn’t find it himself to complain.

He followed her out of the door, hesitating only for a moment when he walked out of the room. She continued on to the living room and stopped right at the door he assumed was the entrance to the house. “Pull your hood up,”

Peter hesitated, noticing she held keys in her hand and a purse slung over her shoulder. But he did as she asked before she could do anything.

She opened the door and motioned for him to walk out first. Peter felt his heart pounding. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone outside. What was she doing? Was this some kind of trick?

“I don’t have all day. Move,”

Peter stumbled outside, inhaling sharply as his lungs filled with cold air. He coughed several times and stumbled even more, cradling his wrist close to his chest. The brief idea of him running disappeared as he realized he couldn’t even breathe correctly or that his wrist throbbed with the slightest movement.

The car in the driveway beeped as she walked past him. “Get in the back,” she said, already opening the door for the driver’s side.

She didn’t close her door until he was inside. She began driving, occasionally glancing at him from the rearview mirror. He couldn't move his eyes away from the window taking in his surroundings. He didn’t understand what she was doing, letting him look out the window as she continued driving.

Peter wondered if maybe this was a test. That maybe he was supposed to guess what she was thinking and maybe she wanted him to keep his eyes closed without her asking.

But she didn’t say anything and there wasn’t even the slightest hint of a vibration coming from the back of his neck. So he kept his eyes looking out the window, trying to memorize every building and street they passed, his eyes straining to read the street signs in the dim lights from the street lights.

For the longest time, the only view he had was the brick from the neighbor’s house. He had forgotten how big the world outside was.

As she drove, the buildings started becoming familiar. Peter could remember swinging from some of the roofs, and they passed a street where if you turned left and then turned right, you would end up at Ned’s apartment.

She turned onto a street and Peter’s heart began pounding and he felt his breaths coming in short bursts. She stopped in front of a building and didn’t say anything, as if allowing him time to take it all in.

They were outside his apartment. The apartment he lived in with Aunt May.

_You’re scaring me._

“Since you’re so insistent on being Peter Parker, get out. Get out and go back to his life. Maybe then you’ll realize what he’s done and that his life is over. Perhaps then you’ll appreciate more what I was willing to offer you,” she pulled out a key from her jacket and handed it to him.

Peter took it, swallowing hard and wondering where the trick was. But she unlocked the door and kept her eyes on him from the rearview mirror, waiting for him to get out.

As soon as his feet were planted on the sidewalk, she drove off. Peter tried to keep his breathing steady as he looked at the building in front of him. He was sure it was late, but traffic was higher than usual. He couldn’t understand why.

And the sounds of the city hit him all at once. He gasped, forgetting how loud it was and how hard it had been for him to drown out all the noises right after the spider bite. He crossed the street when he saw an opening and hurried inside the building.

At the door, he paused to look out the window. Her car was gone. She was gone. Out of his life. This whole thing was just a bad dream and he would go back to his real home. May would be there, worried because Peter had no idea how long it had been and he hadn’t even called her. But she would make him that meatball soup he loved. And he would call Tony and tell him what happened and he would be so happy to hear from him because Tony didn’t hate him. He didn’t want to kill Peter.

The brick wall muted the sounds, but the world was still too loud. He kept his head down, climbing the stairs as he made his way to his floor.

It was only once the key was in the doorknob that he hesitated.

What if she was right? Everything he had done, he could remember it, but…it was just a vivid dream. That’s all it was. Peter wouldn’t do something like that to May. He loved her. She was the only family he had left.

And Tony. Tony would understand. He would understand if Peter had done that. He would understand and he would help him and he would make it all better.

Peter swallowed hard, unlocking and carefully opening the door.

Once it was opened, Peter took a few careful steps inside, closing the front door behind him by habit. Everything looked exactly the same. Just like the last time he was here. He could feel an odd tingling in the back of his neck, but it was okay. May would fix that for him. And his pounding heart calmed a little. Everything was fine. It was just a dream. He didn’t-

His eyes wandered to the floor. There was blood. Old, dried blood. Peter could faintly hear someone, but he couldn’t focus on the voice. He could only focus on the blood.

It was real. He had done it. He hurt May. He _killed_ May.

_“Peter?”_

At his name, Peter shot his head up, his heart pounding fast again. It was Tony Stark. He was here. He was waiting for Peter. He knew what he had done to May. Of course he knew. The news had reported it and Peter was sure Tony was the one that discovered May.

“Oh my God, Peter, you came back. You’re here,” Tony sneered as he stood up from the couch and moved towards him.

Peter shook his head, wincing as the pain in his neck intensified. Tony’s voice sounded distorted, as if he were speaking through a bull horn. “M-Mr. Stark, p-please. I…I didn’t…I _promise_ it was an ac-accident!” Peter pleaded, taking a step back.

Tony stopped moving, but the sneer was still there. Peter couldn’t ever remember seeing that look on Tony’s face. But his face was blurry for some reason. Peter blinked, trying to focus his eyesight.

Tony started talking again, but this time, it was as if he speaking static. Peter shook his head again, bringing his hands up to cover his ears and ignoring the pain shooting through his wrist. It was too loud and everything was overwhelming him and he swore he could smell the blood on the floor.

The only thing he could make out was. “Got you,”

Then the bathroom door opened and a woman Peter had never seen before came out. In fact, Peter couldn’t make out any of her facial features. It was worse than the blurriness of Tony’s face. Peter continued blinking, but her face stayed featureless. Was this a Shield agent? Was this who was going to take him away for losing control and killing May?

The woman quickly moved towards him, but Peter moved faster. He took the few remaining steps into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the counter. “No! Get away from me!”

She stopped and Peter could see her mouth moving, but he could only make out static. He couldn’t pick anything out and his neck was throbbing.

“Peter, drop the knife,”

“No! No, I…I loved her, Mr. Stark. It was an accident!”

Tony’s distorted voice came again, mixed with someone knocking at the door. Peter strained his hearing, switching his eyes between the woman and Tony. His eyes were starting to hurt the throbbing in his neck turned to a sharp pain. But he couldn’t do anything about it. His good hand was holding the knife and he had already jostled his bad wrist too much.

The door opened again. Peter turned to see Pepper come in, her eyes wide with fear as she saw him.

Of course she was scared of him. He was about to lose control again and what if he killed her too?

Peter knew it was his only chance. He dropped the knife and ran for the door, pushing Pepper out of the way before running down the stairs and praying Tony would be distracted with making sure Pepper was okay.

* * *

 

Of all the days for them to finally find Peter, it had to happen on Black Friday.

No, they didn’t find him, Tony corrected himself as he flew over the city. Their investigation was a pile of shit. And Peter came back on his own. He stood in front of Tony, just a few feet away, and he ran.

Peter _ran_ from him.

 _“My scanners aren't picking him up for some reason, but I can see him. I have eyes on him!,_ Sam announced through the comms.

Before Tony could ask where, Friday pulled up the coordinates and set up the quickest route. “Drop down and grab him!”

_“Can’t do. We’ve got crowds out for Black Friday,”_

_“Shoot a tracker on him,”_ Clint threw in.

_“I’m trying, but he keeps weaving in and out of the crowds. It might end up on the wrong person,”_

_“I’ve got eyes on him too,”_ Natasha added. _“I’ll reroute him to a quieter street. Falcon, you get the tracker on him,”_

Tony pushed the suit faster. He was three minutes out. Just _three minutes_.

_“Shit! He just went inside a Best Buy. Widow, you still on him?”_

_“Yeah, I got him,”_

_“I’m rounding the building, blocking off any other exits,”_

Two more minutes. Peter would be officially back to them in two more minutes and they could get him the help he needed and this nightmare would finally be over.

_“He pulled the fire alarm! I’m trying to keep eyes on him, but I’m going to lose him!”_

_“Coming in, Nat. What aisle?”_

_”Computers, but I lost him,”_

One minute. Tony was going at maximum speed. He would not let Peter slip through his fingers!

_“Does anyone have eyes on him?”_

A silence followed. Tony landed on the roof of the Best Buy. “Friday, scan the crowds. Find him!”

The fire alarm was blaring and the crowds were mutinous at having their Black Friday shopping interrupted. Tony knew something like this would overwhelm Peter. The kid had been frantic when he fled, combined with an injured wrist that Tony was sure was broken and obvious malnutrition, he didn’t even want to think how Peter would be affected by a crowd this size.

“I’m sorry, boss. I can’t find any traces of him,”

“Scan again. Clint, tell me you saw him walk out,”

_“I’m sorry Tony. I haven’t caught any sight of him,”_

“Someone?!”

No answer.

“I still can’t-“

“Scan again, Friday,” Tony took off into the sky again. “We’re so close. I am not losing him again,”

* * *

 

May unlocked her phone and opened her messages. The seventh time in under half an hour. And she still hadn’t received any message from anyone. She got up from the couch and moved back into the kitchen where Pepper was. 

“Are you sure your head’s okay?” May asked for the third time.

Pepper, ever so patient, nodded. “It’s fine. Just a little bump,”

May pursed her lips, staring at the butterfly bandages she had to use. Peter did that. He had thrown Pepper into a wall as he ran away from them.

She would never forget the terrified look in his eyes. From the bathroom she could hear Tony talking to someone. She assumed it was Pepper back from the gala with a new bottle of wine.

“You’re here. We got you back. You’re safe,”

Those weren’t words Tony would say to Pepper right now.

May stepped out of the bathroom and saw Peter. He was back. He was back and he look horrible and something was wrong with his wrist and May knew it would need surgery. But he was _back_.

“Peter! Oh my God, honey, you’re back!” May started to run towards him, but he backed away into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

“No! Get away from me!” he yelled, holding the knife with his good hand.

And May saw that there wasn’t an ounce of recognition in his eyes. She willed herself not to cry. Not yet. Not until Peter was in her arms and they would be tears of relief. “Peter, please. It’s me. Aunt May. You’re home, Peter. You’re safe. Please, honey,”

“Peter, drop the knife,” Tony said.

Peter was shaking his head. “No! No, I…I loved her, Mr. Stark. It was an accident!”

“Okay, why don’t you tell me what the accident was? I’m sure we can figure something out. Just put the knife down, kid,”

Someone was knocking at the door. May didn’t take her eyes off of Peter, as his eyes darted around the room.

Then the door opened and Pepper walked in. Peter dropped the knife and May ran towards him. But he was out the door, shoving Pepper out of his way and into a wall.

“Peter, no! Wait!” May was already running after him when a hand caught her wrist.

“May, stop,” Tony said, pulling her back inside.

May pulled her wrist away. “But he’s-!”

“I know! I’ll go after him in the suit, but I need you to make sure Pepper is okay,”

May took a deep breath. This wasn’t a time to argue. “Don’t you dare come back without him, Tony,”

Tony gave a quick nod, before running down the stairs, his suit assembling around him as he went after Peter.

May helped Pepper up and led her to the kitchen table. She tried to disconnect from her personal concerns and act like a professional nurse, but the tears made it hard to see and her hands were trembling as she put on the butterfly bandage.

Pepper tried reassuring her, but it didn’t take away the pit in her stomach. Peter hadn’t recognized her at all. He was different. Changed. And it terrified her to know that woman did it to him. The woman they still didn’t have a name for or any kind of information.

Her Peter was broken.

It was just after one in the morning when there was a knock on the door.

May stood from the chair, but didn’t move to answer it. If it was Tony, he would’ve walked right in with Peter beside him.

Pepper answered it.

Not Tony. Sam Wilson. Alone.

He looked at May for only a second before coming in. That looked told May everything she needed to know.

But he still cleared his throat and started to talk. “We’re still looking, but we lost sight of him,”

“Did you at least get a tracker on him?” May asked in as steady a voice as she could manage.

Sam shook his head.

May took a deep breath. She didn’t want to hear an explanation for why they couldn’t get Peter back. She was tired and just wanted to hold Peter in her arms again. “Excuse me,” she said quietly, moving to her room and laying down on the bed.

She could hear the faint whispers of Sam and Pepper talking, but she didn’t care enough to figure out what they were saying. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to remember a simpler time when Ben shared her bed and Peter slept in between them.

* * *

 

A part of him still didn’t want to believe it. A tiny part of him that was fighting against this nightmare, willing himself to wake up and find himself safe in his bedroom, May cooking breakfast, and a message from Tony telling him good work on patrol last night.

But this wasn’t a dream. This was reality. He saw the blood on the floor, Tony’s face screwed up in anger, the Avengers chasing him.

Peter wrapped his arms around himself, not even having the energy to wince at the pain shooting through his wrist. He was tired and hungry and his head was feeling fuzzy again and his chest hurt from the running and breathing in the cold air.

It was a miracle he made it out of that store without the Avengers finding him. The crowds were overwhelming and Peter could feel a panic attack coming on. But the distant memory of a man dressed in a devil’s suit came to mind. He was teaching Peter how to hide in his surroundings, using crowds, buildings, shadows, anything. His mind was so fuzzy, he couldn’t remember if that man was real, but he was sure he didn’t deserve to dress as a devil.

Just like the training he had (whether it was real or not), Peter blended into the crowd as they made their way out of Best Buy when he pulled the fire alarm. He had to remember to breath and not allow his senses to become overwhelmed.

It must’ve helped that he was running high on adrenaline because one moment he was in the crowds and the next, he was hiding behind a dumpster in a secluded alley. He didn’t move until he thought it was safe hours later, his mind pulling up memories, trying to figure out what finally made him snap, what made his lose control, what made him kill Aunt May.

It was still dark by the time Peter made his way out of the alley. He looked up and could see Iron Man and Falcon flying around the city in the distance. He made sure his hood covered his head and he stayed close to the shadows.

There was only one place Peter could think of where he would be accepted. And even then, he wasn’t positive of it. But he stumbled his way forward, trying to remember the streets and the turns and the buildings.

This whole time, she was right. She really was trying to protect him from the Avengers. Especially from Tony. Peter shivered, not from the cold, but of the memory of the rage in Tony’s eyes.

He could never go back. Peter Parker's life really was over.

By the time he walked up the porch steps, his entire body was shaking and his wrist was numb. The sun was coming up, but the overcast sky didn’t allow much light to shine through. It looked like it was about to snow any moment now.  
  
He knocked twice on the door, chest heaving as if he ran the entire way. After an agonizingly long minute, the door opened. Cold eyes met his tired face. She crossed her arms as she stared at him. “Do I know you?”

He met her eyes for only a second before dropping them. “Please…I-I’m…” he shook his head. Everything still felt so confusing, but she said she was trying to protect him. That was the only thing he could be sure of. Right?

“What is your name?” she asked deliberately.

He looked up, holding her gaze. “Richard,” he said with sharp inhale.

She smiled, her features softening. She opened the door and guided him inside. “Oh, my little dove, I knew you would figure it out. I knew you would come back home,”

He couldn’t stop shaking even though she closed the door behind him. She grabbed one of the dining room chairs and sat him down. Apparently, he still didn’t have couch privileges. “Why don’t we fix that wrist of yours and get some medicine inside of you,”

He nodded. “T-thank you,” he whispered.

She watched him for a moment before clearing her throat. “Yvonne. My name is Yvonne,”


	9. Chapter 9

It was not a good day for Matt. Today was their first day in court defending Leslie Wright and the video of Leslie was presented to the jury once it was the prosecutors turn.

Matt didn’t have to see the jury to know they had made up their mind about Leslie.

Everyone in the court room knew it, but he and Foggy still stood their ground, making their speeches and interviewing witnesses and trying to present a different perspective on the video.

It would be a short trial if Nelson and Murdock didn’t present something compelling enough to at least buy them more time.

And Matt was not stupid enough to deny that a headache that came on suddenly had a negative affect on his work. He had made sure to get at least five hours of sleep the night before, a luxury he did not often get. He noticed it as soon as the video began playing. There was a loud ringing sound for the entirety of the video. Matt had whispered to Foggy if he was hearing the same thing. Foggy told him no and asked if it was one of his enhanced things.

Just as Matt began wondering if his ears were about to start bleeding, the ringing stopped. As did the video.

When it was Matt's turn to speak, he had to fight to keep his voice at a normal level and his face clear of any flinching at the sound of his own words. He couldn't remember the last time his head hurt like this. Not including any concussions he received as Daredevil.

“Hey, you don’t look so good,” Foggy said, grabbing Matt’s arm once they left the courtroom for the day. “I thought you said you got some sleep last night,”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know. It’s just…you sure you didn’t hear any kind of ringing or feedback from the video?”

“No, nothing. Not even a little bit,”

Matt rubbed his forehead, hoping to alleviate some of the pain. “Do you still have the video? I want to review it again. I swear, I didn’t hear that feedback when we first watched it together,”

“Okay, but why is it important?”

Matt shrugged. “Sorry, Foggy, I can’t explain it, but there’s something we missed. I _hear_ something and right now, we need to look at every possible detail to try and prove she’s innocent,” For a moment, Matt thought about taking the video to Tony. But he was sure Tony was working only on bringing back Peter. He didn’t have a civilian identity to keep up with. And he needed to keep those two identities as separate as possible.

Foggy blew out a breath. “You really believe that? That she’s innocent?”

“If you could hear how steady her heart beat is, then yeah, you’d believe it too,”

* * *

 

May told Tony not to come back if he didn’t have Peter with him when he walked through the door. One week later, Tony still hadn’t come back.

Even though the police were officially involved in the investigation, no one told them of Peter’s five-minute appearance. How could they explain that he ran from them because he was scared? That he was rambling nonsense and actually pulled a knife out when May tried to get near him.

They would label him as dangerous.

And like that first night that he was taken, nothing on the video feed showed up. But this time, the video cut to static instead of showing something else. They didn’t even have proof that Peter had come back, no matter how momentarily.

May had her anti-depressants refilled and requested as many extra shifts as her boss would give her.

A cold front blew in, just in time for the holiday season. And a full week after Peter had shown up at the apartment, it began snowing.

May stood in front of the window she had permanently open now. Freezing air blew in and little snowflakes landed on the sill, only to immediately melt. She stared outside, looking at the Christmas lights decorating the surrounding balconies and the people on the sidewalk with their shopping in hand.

Peter loved the holiday season. How people seemed to act a little bit nicer than normal and the warmth of the lights and decorations and seeing the reaction on people’s faces as they received a gift from a loved one.

May closed her eyes for a moment, choosing to remember Peter’s joy-filled face last Christmas instead of the broken look from last week. When she opened them, she turned around to look at the apartment. Not one Christmas decoration was up.

She pulled on a sweater, turned up the heat just a little bit more, and went to their storage closet and began pulling out all the Christmas decorations.

Peter was going to come back. He was going to come back and she would make sure the place was ready for him.

* * *

 

For the first few days after the Peter sighting, Tony divided his time between flying around the city and updating the scanners on his and Falcon’s suits. Sam had Peter in his sights, yet his suit didn’t pick it up. Tony was sure his own scanners failed at picking up Peter too. And the new camera they installed in May’s apartment didn’t record Peter at all. Instead, it had cut to static.

Just like before, Vision took a look at the clip, did some kind of computer manipulation, and the real scene showed up as a hologram from his palm. And this clip couldn’t be replicated either.

But in that hologram, Tony was able to find something. For a half-second, Peter’s back was towards the camera. Even though his hair had grown since his disappearance and his hoodie covered a good portion of his neck, there was something that had scabbed over on his neck.

Vision expanded the image and enhanced it as best as he could.

The scab was raised, as if there was something more buried underneath. “Can you make out what it is?” Tony asked, squinting at the pixels.

“No, but going by his behavior, I’m guessing it’s some kind of implant manipulating what he sees,”

Tony began pacing, wondering if perhaps that implant had anything to do with why the cameras showed only static.

He began all kinds of research on technology that could interfere with any kind of recording devices. But nothing came close to explaining how that woman was able to change the perspective with a single look.

The door to his workshop opened.

Pepper came in, dressed in her press conference clothes, and Tony’s heart dropped just a little.

“You ready?” she asked.

Tony rolled his eyes. “No,”

Pepper adjusted the files in her arms. “I know. But people have questions and it’s been over a week since the Best Buy event. They just want to make sure there’s not another alien invasion coming,”

Tony looked down at his work. Diagrams of different devices that claimed to interfere with cameras, a napkin with a slice of pizza Rhodey had brought him, and a copy of the sketch of the woman who took Peter.

An alien invasion was the last thing on his mind. “No more than ten minutes,”

Pepper nodded. “But you need to get cleaned up some. You might tell them nothing’s coming, but your appearance will give them a reason to worry,”

One of the many reasons why Tony hated the press. They analyzed everything, from the color of his shoes to the way his tie was positioned. He supposed they had a reason this time. This would be the first press conference he held since Peter’s disappearance.

He washed his face and trimmed his goatee. Pepper had laid out a simple suit for him, which he quickly pulled on. The sooner he did this, the sooner it would be over and he could get back to what was really important.

Pepper offered a smile when he came out of the room, looking better than he had these last couple of months. She squeezed his arm, leading him to the small auditorium where the press was waiting for him.

At the door, she paused, straightening his tie and fixing his collar. “You only have to answer five questions and then I can take over. This is really just to show that you’re still alive,”

Tony would’ve made some kind of quip, but he was tired. Deep in his bones, he could feel the exhaustion his body was trying to warn him of. Looking at Pepper, he could see the underlying worry she had over that exhaustion. “Pepper, when we get him back-“

“I know. Don’t worry, Tony,” she said, interrupting whatever words he was about to spew. “You ready?”

“No,” he answered truthfully. But he still moved forward, opening the door and not even flinching as questions were thrown his way and flashes from cameras nearly blinded him.

Tony didn’t respond until he made it up to the podium with Pepper standing dutifully next to him. He cleared his throat, taking the bottle of water that was there. Most likely from Pepper’s foresight. “I have a quick statement prepared about the Best Buy debacle on Black Friday,” he started. He looked directly at the silent reporters and into their cameras, pushing away thoughts of Peter for the moment. “Yes, Black Widow and Falcon were spotted during the event, but it was not because of a threat of mass shooting or an alien invasion. They were simply there to bolster security,”

Questions were thrown his way. He tried to listen to them all, to pick out the ones that would have the easiest and quickest response. But as he looked for a random reporter, he could clearly hear a question he did not want to answer.

“Does your lack of public appearance these last couple of months have anything to do with the missing SI intern?”

Tony knew his reaction was evident from the way the cameras began flashing even more. The questions started revolving around ‘the intern’ and Tony gripped the podium, his knuckles turning white.

Pepper’s hand was on his shoulder, grounding him and bringing him back to this moment. With a practiced ease, Pepper stepped forward, “Mr. Stark would like to thank you all for coming out, but at the moment, he is very busy. Mr. Stark is developing a new technology that will improve all video recording devices,”

That was his cue to leave. Tony exited the conference room, his back to the cameras. He did his duty and Pepper would take care of the rest. All the questions were now directed towards her and this new technology she spoke of. He loved that woman and her ability control any interview.  Now, he could only hope that the next time he had to hold a press conference would be after they got Peter back.

* * *

 

His wrist still hurt, but Yvonne insisted it was better. He didn’t know how long it had been since she wrapped when he came back. He didn’t need to know how much time passed anymore. That wasn’t information he had the privilege to know. 

Yvonne smiled down at the wrist after unwrapping it, despite it still being twisted wrong and he was sure his wrist wasn’t supposed to look at that. “See, it’s all better. You just needed to listen to me and all things become better,”

He nodded. Yvonne was right. She was always right. Even though when he tried to move it, pain still shot through his nerves. If she said it was better, then it was better.

Yvonne ran her hands through his hair. “Do you know what color your hair is supposed to be, Richard?”

He shook his head. He turned away quickly to bury a sneeze in the crook of his arm.

Yvonne narrowed her eyes at his sneeze. He didn’t meet her eyes, instead, cowering a little as he reached up for his hair. “Is it supposed to be like yours?” he asked softly.

“You aren’t supposed to sneeze. Your cold is gone. Why did you sneeze?”

He shook his head. “It was an accident. I’m not sick. You said I’m not sick anymore,”

She still eyed him warily. “Black. Your hair has always been black, but someone changed it,” she said, running her fingers through his curls.

He leaned into her touch, closing his eyes. And the image of a different woman came to mind.

_“Hey, Pete, you fell asleep on the couch again,”_

He shook his head. She was gone. She was part of his past life and she was gone because he lost control. That’s why he’s Richard now. Richard never loses control.

“We’re going to fix your hair,” Yvonne said, giving his hair a less than gentle tug.

He followed out of her room, hesitating at the doorway only by habit. She led him into the kitchen, passing the living room where she had the TV on. He wasn’t able to look at it, but he could hear it was the news.

In the kitchen, Yvonne had pulled out a box of hair dye and a dragged chair by the sink. It wasn’t until she motioned to the chair that he took a seat. Because he was never to do anything like that without her permission.

She began running her hands through his hair, pulling out the knots with quick tugs. He kept his head as still as possible, his eyes closed and his mind trying to push away memories. He turned his focus to the voices he could hear from the TV.

Until he heard the names Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. They were replaying a press conference they just held. He wanted to ask Yvonne to change it, but he knew she wouldn’t. She might even get mad at him and he didn’t want that.

Instead, he was forced to listen. Tony saying they were close to closing in on the criminal Peter Parker and Pepper telling her story of how he had viciously attacked her on Black Friday.

His stomach churned, hearing their voices and the memory of a gentler hand running through his hair. His eyes burned, but he would not cry. Those things shouldn’t bother him. They were supposed to bother Peter Parker. And that wasn’t him anymore.

* * *

 

Foggy pulled the autopsy report, pointing out the other very present injuries on Jacob couldn’t have been done by his own mother. He was missing for two months and she had no idea where he was. Why would she murder her son the day he finally came back? The other injuries had to have come from someone he encountered during the time he was missing. Especially an odd scar on the back of his neck that look like it came from a medical procedure.

The prosecutor brought up the video again and the drug they found in his system that caused the fatal overdose. An empty vial that tested positive for that drug was found in Leslie’s home along with a syringe covered with her fingerprints.

Matt brought up different occasions where an event in a recording showed something completely different than what actually happened in real life. Of course the vial and syringe were found in her apartment. She had found Jacob there with those items next to him and grabbed them. She took them inside with her when she called the police and left them there for the police to find.

But again, the prosecutor brought up the video and asked if it looked like anything other than Leslie murdering her son could’ve happened.

Honestly, the prosecution wasn't even trying. Not with the video evidence they had.

Matt had gone over the video Foggy sent him multiple times. But not once did he hear that feedback again. Just another dead end.

They managed to extend the trial to two weeks because of different technicalities. But there weren’t any technicalities they could use to get Leslie out of this.

Matt tried reaching out to the man who claimed to have seen Jacob while he was missing, but there was no response from him. Then Matt found the man was actually deaf, so of course he wouldn’t return any of Matt’s phone calls. By the time Terrence responded to Matt’s email, it was the last day of the trial, making it too late to follow up.

Matt was in charge of the closing statement. He stayed up almost all night preparing for it, remembering how steady Leslie’s heart was. This was their last chance.

The prosecution went first and they played the video again.

And as soon as the video began playing, Matt could hear the feedback.

“Dude, what’s going on?” Foggy whispered when he noticed Matt pressing a hand to his head.

“You don’t hear that?”

“No, I don’t hear anything,” Foggy shifted in his seat. “The judge is looking at us. At least sit up straight,”

Matt grunted, pulling his hand away from his ear and straightening himself. But the sound was so loud and he could already feel the migraine. “Foggy, I can’t do the closing,” Matt whispered. “My head, it’s…” he swallowed another grunt from the pain.

“Don’t worry. Just give me your notes and I’ll take care of it,”

The feedback stopped as soon as the video was over. But the migraine stayed.

Foggy stood and delivered the closing statement. And honestly, Matt thought he did a much better job than he would’ve. But all of their arguments during the trial had been shut down because of the video. And even though Matt knew Leslie was innocent, he knew the jury didn't believe it.

They waited while the jury was dismissed to come up with their final verdict. Matt took some aspirin Karen had offered. It eased the pain to a dull throbbing. He could manage that.

“They were showing the original,”

“What?”

“I don’t know, I’m just trying to figure out why you were hearing feedback when they showed the video in court and not any other time,” Foggy said, “They played the original and all the other times, you’ve been playing a copy,”

“That might actually mean something,” Matt murmured to himself.

But it was too late to pursue that thought. At least for the moment.  
  
Three hours later, when they were finally allowed back in and the verdict was read. Leslie Wright was found guilty for the murder of Jacob Wright. Fifty years with a chance of parole in twenty.

Matt stood with the rest of the courtroom as the police led Leslie away. He could hear her crying, but she didn’t resist. And his resolve to prove her innocence grew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I know how court stuff works aside from the one time I was called in for jury duty? Nope. But here is still an attempt based on the shows I have seen involving court rooms. Next chapter will completely be in Peter's pov, so I hope y'all are ready for that!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments! Seriously, I love them so much and read them multiple times and it makes me super happy that none of this is just seen as a ramble of nonsense! I'd definitely love to hear what y'all think of this new chapter...!!

He didn’t recognize himself anymore. From the window, he could make out his reflection. His face was sunken, his nose a permanent red from the cold and his hair was black now. He didn’t look like Peter Parker anymore. He was Richard.

Richard was his dad’s name though.

He shook his head. “No. I’m not him. I’m not him,” he whispered to himself, shutting his eyes and pulling at his hair. When had it grown so much?

His throat began aching and he tried to hold in the coughs. But then his lungs began hurting too and his eyes watered and it was getting hard to breath.

The coughing shook his body. He buried his face in the mattress, trying to stifle the sounds of his coughing. He wasn’t supposed to be sick anymore. Yvonne said he was all better and didn’t need more medicine.

“Little dove, is that you?” Yvonne called out from wherever she was in the house.

He took several deep breaths, catching his breath.

“I asked you a question,”

He flinched, feeling a small shock. He turned around on the bed and saw her standing in the doorway, an annoyed expression on her face. He shook his head. “No,” his voice raw from the coughing.

Yvonne pursed her lips. “Dinner is ready,”

He got up and followed after her, ignoring the way his legs still shook under his weight. Yvonne always gave him the amount of food she said he needed. There was no reason for him to feel weak.

He took his place at the table, not touching the bowl of soup until Yvonne sat down and took her first bite. She always had to start eating before he could touch his own food. He dipped the spoon, hoping for something more than just broth this time. But there were only three baby carrots and a small piece of chicken.

“Don’t forget to add crackers. You love them,” Yvonne said, gesturing to the basket of saltine crackers with her overflowing spoon.

He didn’t look at how full her spoon was of chicken and vegetables. He reached over for the basket and crumbled the crackers.

They ate in silence. He finished much sooner than she did, but he sat at the table and waited for her. He sat there, convincing himself that his stomach was full.

Yvonne pushed her bowl to the side, indicating she finished. There was still food in her bowl and he had to sit on his hands to resist reaching over to finish it for her.

“Did you know you didn’t wash the dishes right this afternoon?”

His eyes snapped up from her bowl to her face. He blinked, trying to remember what she was talking about. He hadn’t even left his room today. He never washed any dishes. “B-but-“

A small shock. He flinched.

“And now you’re going to interrupt me when I talk?”

He didn’t respond.

Yvonne slammed her hand on the table. “I asked you a question!”

He flinched. “No, I won’t,”

She narrowed her eyes. He waited for her eyes to flash again. They didn’t. “You will wash the plates correctly this time, Richard, or I will take away a privilege,”

He nodded, standing up and gathering the two bowls. He took them to the sink and stared down the drain as he dumped the rest of the soup Yvonne hadn’t eaten. He willed his stomach not to growl as he turned on the garbage disposal and started washing the dishes.

As he washed the dishes, he could hear her mumble, "I don't understand why you aren't acting the same,"

* * *

It was snowing again. He had counted five separate days of snow. He wondered what month it was. Yvonne didn’t have any calendars in the house

Did they pass Christmas already?

He loved Christmas. May always had Christmas music on and Ben took him to look at Christmas lights and-

“No, stop it,” he whispered, hitting his head to force those memories out. Those people were dead and they didn’t matter anymore.

“Petey, what are you doing here?”

He lifted his head. Ben was standing there. But he blinked and he was gone.

His head dropped to the bed again and he pulled the hoodie up that Yvonne let him keep. He began coughing, unable to hold it back. Hopefully with his face covered, it would muffle the sounds.

But he yelped as he felt a shock. It only made him cough even more. And it was followed by another shock.

He was trying his best to hold back the coughs. His eyes were burning along with his throat and why was his wrist hurting still?

He quickly stood, coughing only a couple more times before making it to the bathroom. He turned on the sink and it sputtered and there was a small dribble of water. He cupped his hands underneath, trying to catch as much water as he could. He took a drink, having become accustomed to the taste of tap water.

Then the faucet sputtered again and the water stopped. But the tickling in the back of his throat was still persisting and more coughs escaped his lips.

“Richard! What are you doing?!”

A shock.

He fell to the ground trying to catch his breath. He had to stop. He was okay. He was not sick. There was no need for him to continue coughing like this.

Yvonne was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and a glare on her face.

“I’m sorry,” he coughed. “I can’t…I need-“

Her eyes flashed. He muffled a cry.

“You don’t need anything unless I tell you. I thought you understood that, Richard?”

He nodded, willing his lungs to cooperate. “I do, I under-“

He coughed again and he felt a shock. Much longer than the others. Just like in the beginning when he didn’t believe that he was Richard.

His eyes closed and the coughing finally stopped.

* * *

He woke up colder than he ever remembered. His arms were bare.

Oh. The hoodie was gone. Yvonne had taken away that privilege while he slept. Because that's what he had been doing. Sleeping. Not lying unconscious after her shocks or trying to hold back his coughs.

He winced, rubbing at the back of his neck and wincing again as he touched the sore spot. The scab was starting to peel away, leaving the raised skin of a scar.

He stood up, feeling his head spin multiple times and another tickle in the back of his throat, but he didn’t cough. Yvonne didn’t like it and he already learned his lesson of what would happen if he did.

So he curled up into a ball on his bed, burying his face in his knees to muffle the sounds of a few coughs and a sneeze.

But he coughed longer than he thought and when he finally got control his body tensed. He waited for the shock. That feeling he should be used to, but no one could ever get used to that kind of pain.

It never came.

He looked up and noticed the door was closed. Yvonne never closed it anymore. She said it had to stay open for his own good.

What did it mean that it was closed?

He was too afraid to get up and find out. He stayed curled up on the bed, staring outside, noticing how the single street lamp he could see from his window glinted off the snow.

“When are you going home, Pete?”

He looked up. Ben was there again. This time sitting on the bed. He didn’t dare blink. What if he disappeared again?

Ben stared at him, eyes always so warm and the smile bringing a feeling to his heart that he forgot existed.

But Ben didn’t say anything else and his eyes were drying out. He blinked and just like before, Ben was gone.

It was okay though. Ben had been gone for a long time now. But Ben had protected him.

Had Ben protected him from himself? Was that why Yvonne came for him? To protect him from the world and even himself?

He just woken up from the floor, but already his eyes were drooping. He was so tired. Not even his stomach had the energy to protest the lack of food.

* * *

The next time he opened his eyes, the door was wide open. The smell of food wafted in through the hall and into his room.

This time his stomach did growl. But he didn’t move. Yvonne never called him. He couldn’t leave his room without her permission.

So he waited, wincing every time his stomach growled. His hunger was overruling every other thing that was currently wrong with his body.

“Richard! Come and eat!”

He jumped up and immediately regretted his action. He held his hand out to brace himself against something. But his hand grasped the air instead.

He fell to the ground, landing on his bad wrist and letting out a yell.

Footsteps came running to the room. He looked up and saw Yvonne in the doorway. And he could’ve swore there was fear in her eyes.

But it was gone in an instant when she realized it had come from him falling. “I thought I called you to come eat?”

He nodded. “Yes, but-“

“I am tired of your excuses, Richard. If you don’t’ want to eat, then fine. Stay here,” Yvonne shook her head. "Honestly, Richard, what has gotten into you?"

He opened his mouth to protest, but he knew that wouldn’t do him any good. He stayed on the ground, watching her leave and trying to focus on how cold it was instead of his hunger.

* * *

When his eyes opened again, sunlight was actually streaming in through the window. He looked up at the little patch on the wall where a sun beam hit. A sharp pain went through his wrist and he quickly looked down. He didn’t have the privilege to feel the sun. Especially not from sticking to a wall.

He sat up, crawling to lean against the bed. He didn’t want to get on the bed. If he did, he would end up looking outside. And he didn’t like thinking of how big it was. He was safe here, in this little world Yvonne had created for him.

“Hey, Peter, how about a camping trip? Get out of the city, look up at the stars and that big open sky?”

He flinched, seeing Ben standing in the doorway. He shut his eyes and clenched his hair. Why was he always coming here? Why couldn’t he leave him alone?

He opened his eyes again and Ben was still standing there. He inhaled sharply, blinking a few times. But it wasn’t Ben. It was Yvonne.

“Are you ready to eat this time, Richard?”

He nodded.

“Come on, then,”

He stood up carefully and even then black spots entered his vision. But he shook his head to try and clear them away while he followed after Yvonne. He took his seat as Yvonne placed a plate of saltine crackers in front of him and set a large bowl of soup down for herself.

She didn’t say anything as she started eating, her bowl full of vegetables and meat.

His stomach growled and she looked at him. “Well?”

He reached for the plate and began eating a cracker. And he knew these crackers held almost no nutritional value, but he was so hungry.

Besides, this was what Yvonne had given him. And it was privilege and he would eat them.

He tried to eat them slowly. But he cleared the plate before Yvonne finished her soup.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Done already? Are you still hungry?”

His stomach wasn’t growling anymore, but it was twisting as if adjusting to receiving more food than normal. He shook his head.

“Are you sure? It’s been a few days since you’ve had a proper meal,” Yvonne said.

He swallowed hard. “I’m sure,”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t believe you,”

He flinched, watching her eyes, but they never flashed.

Instead, she got up and went to a pantry. She pulled out a box of saltine crackers, opened it up, and poured them out onto his plate. “Eat,”

There was no way he would argue with her. He ate, this time much slower than before.

Yvonne kept eating as well, before pushing her bowl away when it was still half full. He paused, expecting her to ask him to wash the dishes.

“What are you waiting for? You will eat everything on your plate,”

He kept eating, each bite becoming more difficult than the one before. And when there were only two more crackers left, Yvonne got up, grabbed another box, and filled his plate again.

He said nothing. Taking cracker after cracker and forcing himself to eat it. All the while, Yvonne staring him down.

But there was only so much his stomach could handle after not eating properly for so long. He dropped a half-eaten cracker and shook his head.

“No what?”

He just keep shaking his head, feeling his stomach rolling and churning.

“I provide you protection, give you food to eat, and now you don’t even want to accept that?”

He lowered his head. Maybe if he stayed as still as possible.

“Finish your food!”

He jumped at her yell, scrambling to grab the cracker he had just set down. He put it in his mouth and chewed and chewed and chewed and he couldn’t bring himself to swallow it.

“I taught you better than that, Richard. Stop playing with your food and swallow it,” Yvonne growled.

He swallowed. His stomach clenched and rolled and his mouth suddenly felt very dry.

He managed to lean over to the side before his stomach expelled everything he had just forced in.

Yvonne stood up, her chair clattering to the ground. She was yelling at him, but he couldn’t hear.

His stomach wasn’t finished and his body jerked as his stomach continued purging.

Nothing else was coming up, but he was scared to sit up. Yvonne wasn’t yelling anymore and that terrified him more.

A roll of paper towels was shoved into his hands. “Clean up this filthy mess,”

His hands shook as he took the roll. Whatever energy he had left was completely gone. He tried not to gag because he was sure it would only irritate his throat. As it was, he was having trouble holding back his coughs.

“After everything I’ve done for you, the protection I’ve provided from Tony Stark who would see you dead, this is how you repay me?”

He didn’t respond, keeping his head down as she walked past him. His heart thundered in his chest. He was ruining this. He was ruining his only chance at safety.

* * *

Even though the world was so big outside, he had started looking out the window again. It helped him think. He tried coming up with different ways to make sure Yvonne would stay happy with him. He needed her protection and why would she continue protecting him if she wasn’t happy with him?

He did everything she asked, trying not to hesitate at any request. But Yvonne still wasn’t happy and every interaction with her only seemed to make things worse.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t stop coughing and half the time he wondered if he was running a fever.

“When are you going home, Peter?”

Ben was on the bed again. He was here more often. And it didn’t make sense.

“I am home,” he responded, his voice scratchy from all the coughing.

Ben smiled at him and he watched him slowly fade away again. Like he always did.

He returned his focus back to the window. As he did, two men started walking up the driveway of the neighbor’s house. From what he could remember, the neighbor never received any visitors.

“Richard! Come eat!”

He stood up and left the room. Yvonne was calling him and no matter how curious he was about who these two men were, he would not stall.

Yvonne already had their plates out. Two bowls of soup. One for her filled with chicken a rice and one for him with only a few grains of rice and a small shred of chicken. They ate in silence. Like always.

He swallowed the broth, hoping for it to soothe his throat. But it didn’t. And he tried holding back a cough, but spilled from his mouth.

He felt a shock and he twitched, trying to get control of his breathing.

“What is wrong with you? Why do you still insist on coughing?”

“I…um…”

He was saved from answering when there was a knock at the door.

Yvonne straightened in her chair. No one ever knocked.

“Don’t you dare move,” she hissed before standing up. She hurried into the kitchen, searching through a few drawers before finding a pair of glasses.

Yvonne made her way to the door, slipping on the glasses and smoothing out her clothes. She opened the front door. “Can I help you?” she asked in a friendly voice.

“Hello, so sorry to bother you. Are you Yvonne Blakewell?”

“Yes, and you are…?”

“I’m Franklin and this is my associate, Matt. We’re from Nelson and Murdock Law Firm and we just have a few questions we’d like to ask you,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so things are getting real! I was actually super inspired/excited about writing this part and the upcoming chapters, so I am actually ahead of my writing schedule, meaning updates will officially be happening on Sunday's now!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's happening y'all!!! It's happening!!!!! Not going to lie, I don't know if I'm personally ready for the next chapter...but I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Matt couldn’t understand why the holiday’s were such a busy time. Crime always went up in Hell’s Kitchen and everyone was trying to get out a lawsuit before the end of the year. And this year, he had the additional load of proving Leslie’s innocence, searching for Peter, and acting as the stand-in for Spiderman.

Not that he would give up any of these things. But it did mean meetings that weren't a top priority were not going to happen when he wanted them to.

For example, the meeting with Terrence Suarez. Their schedule never seemed to line up and the best meeting time they could come up with was New Year's Eve. At least it was early enough that there wouldn't be too much traffic.

Matt wrote in his email if they would need a translator since Terrence was deaf and Matt was blind. Clint Barton knew ASL. Maybe he could hire him for the meeting. If he wasn't busy with the search for Peter or had plans for New Year's Eve.

But Terrence said it wasn’t necessary. He could read lips for the most part and if all else failed, he had a hearing aid that he hated wearing.

Foggy, ever the loyal friend, agreed to come along. Of course, after much convincing from Matt and the claim that there might be a need for someone who could see and hear. He threw in a round of drinks on him at a bar other than Josie's when he heard Foggy give a long sigh.

“You sure this guy has something important for us?” Foggy asked as they walked up the driveway. “And I mean, how are we even supposed to communicate with him? You’re blind, he’s deaf, and I speak Punjabi,”

“Trust me on this, Fog. Maybe he did see Jacob when he was missing. And if he didn’t, then we can ask the neighbor, talk to her son in case he knew anything,”

Foggy gave a little grunt but didn’t argue any more.

They walked up the porch and Foggy rang the doorbell. Matt tilted his head, listening for the ring and instead heard the hum of a flashing light. A doorbell programmed for Terrence specifically.

The door opened after a moment.

“Uh, hi, Mr. Suarez,” Foggy started, enunciating his words more than usual, “We’re with Nelson and Murdock. I-“

Matt could hear shuffling.

“He went back inside. I think he went to grab something,” Foggy supplied.

Terrence was back a moment later and Matt could hear the low ringing of a hearing aid.

“Don’t like wearing this, but it helps. So you’re the lawyers?” Terrence asked.

“Yes, I’m Matt and this is my associate, Foggy. We would just like some more information on the report you gave the police a few months ago about a missing minor, Jacob Wright?”

“Like I told the police, I saw him inside my neighbor’s house. I think her name’s Yolanda?”

“Yvonne,” Foggy corrected.

“Whatever. Turns out it was just her son that I saw. But I don’t know, she keeps to herself and I didn’t even know she had a son. Honestly, I think you should talk with her kid. I bet he knows something, because I swear, I saw that kid inside her house,”

"What else do you know about Mrs. Blakewell, your neighbor?"

"Not much. She moved in about three years ago and I've seen her maybe a total of seven times,"

“All right, well, thanks for your time, Mr. Suarez,” Foggy said.

Matt could hear the ringing stop. He assumed Terrence took his hearing aid out just before closing the door. He grabbed on to Foggy’s arm as they walked down the porch.

“Quick and to the point and if anyone else was my partner, we would be getting back into the car and driving off,”

“But we’re here already, so let’s just go ahead and speak with Yvonne,”

“Lucky for you there’s a car in the driveway,” Foggy mumbled as they turned and walked up the porch of the house next door. “I still don’t get it though. Say this kid was Jacob’s friend. How in the world did Jacob even know him? He lived in Hell’s Kitchen and we’re all the way in Elm Park. Leslie never mentioned anything about Jacob going out in the city all on his own and they’ve always lived in Hell’s Kitchen. And nothing in our search about Yvonne showed they lived anywhere near the Wright’s,”

“True, but _nothing_ came up when we were looking up Yvonne. Remember?”

Foggy knocked on the door. “Okay, you’ve got a point. Let’s just hope they’re actually willing to talk to us. It's New Year's Eve. It was a miracle you even got Mr. Suarez to talk with us.

They waited. Longer than they did for Terrence to open the door. And in that time, Matt could hear a faint ringing in his ears. “Do you hear that?” he mumbled to Foggy.

“Hear what?”

The door finally opened and the ringing grew louder. Matt bit back a groan, tilting his head to try an prevent a migraine.

“Can I help you?”

Matt could hardly hear her over the ringing. The only other time he had heard ringing like this was in the court room with that video.

“Hello, so sorry to bother you. Are you Yvonne Blakewell?”

“Yes, and you are…?”

“I’m Franklin and this is my associate, Matt. We’re from Nelson and Murdock Law Firm and we just have a few questions we’d like to ask you,”

Matt cleared his throat. He needed to say something, not just leave Foggy to do all the questioning. “Your neighbor, Mr. Suarez-“

Matt was interrupted by a loud clanging, as if silverware had dropped to the floor. He strained his hearing and over the ringing could hear a heart beating erratically.

“Oh, so sorry. That was just my son, Richard. He can be a bit clumsy at times. Now what were you saying?”

“Actually, ma’am, we were hoping to speak with your son. Just a few quick questions,” Foggy said.

“I don’t understand why? He's never done anything wrong,”

“No, we aren't accusing him of anything," Foggy jumped to clarify, "It’s just for a case. We wanted to ask him about some of his friends,”

“Richard doesn’t have many friends,” she responded.

Despite the ringing, Matt noticed her voice had a small threat in it.

And then there was a second pair of footsteps, every step closer, making the ringing that much louder. Matt couldn't help the sharp inhale as he held his ears.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Matt?"

"Just...give me a sec," Matt said through gritted teeth. He backed away from the porch, the ringing growing more tolerable with each distancing step. It wasn't until he was on the sidewalk that Matt could actually function. He focused on Foggy and Yvonne's voice over the ringing and the drip of something coming from his ears.

“Sorry about Matt, he's uh...yeah, anyways. So, you must be Richard,”

Was that worry in Foggy’s voice?

Yvonne cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, but we were eating and-“

“Well maybe we could come by another time. It’s very important,” Foggy interjected.

“No! Now leave before I call the police!” she yelled, slamming the door in Foggy's face.

As soon as the door closed, Matt couldn't hear the ringing.

Foggy hurried to Matt on the sidewalk. "What the hell was that?" he hissed once close enough. Followed by. "Aw, hell, Matt you okay? You're bleeding from your ears,"

Matt brought a hand up and touched the liquid. That's why he was starting to smell iron. "There was this ringing, Foggy. Same frequency as the ringing from the video, but so much _louder_ ," Matt said softly, not wanting to aggravate his migraine. "Something's very wrong here,"

Foggy held out his arm and led Matt back to the car. “Shit, Matt, you should’ve seen that kid. He looked…God, he needs to go to a hospital,”

“Did you get any kind of answer?"

"No, but that kid looked terrified," Foggy paused for a moment. "He kept looking at you though, like he knew you,"

Matt winced at the noise as Foggy turned on the car. "Don't leave yet. Maybe I can pick something up,"

Matt focused in on the home. He could hear the ringing again, but he pushed his focus and his head was killing him. He finally picked something up though. Yvonne's yells.

“Answer me, Richard! Did you know them?!”

The ringing amplified for just a second, covering the sound of a yelp.

“You know how I feel about asking things twice. Did you know them!?”

And finally, a hoarse voice, one that Matt could barely make out over the ringing. “He’s listening,”

“We have to go _now_ ,” Matt hissed, pulling on his seatbelt.

“What is it? What were they saying?” Foggy asked, but was already driving out of the neighborhood.

“I need you to take me upstate,”

“Upstate? Why? What’s going on,”

“Richard knew I was listening,”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense. You’ve never even met him before,”

“Exactly. If our databases didn't find anything on Yvonne, I can almost guarantee, nothing will come up for Richard. We need to go somewhere with a wider reach.

Foggy sighed, but he wasn’t going to argue. “So where upstate are we going?”

“Avenger’s compound,”

Foggy slammed on his brakes. “ _What?!_ ”

“Foggy, come on!”

“I don’t even know how to get there!”

“Just look it up. It’s not like they keep their address a secret,”

“But that-I don’t- _why_?!”

“Tony Stark has like a million databases available to him. He can look up Yvonne and Richard Blakewell for us,”

Foggy slowly began driving again after some of the cars behind him began honking. “Okay. Sure, let’s just ask Tony Stark for a favor. That’s perfectly fine,” Foggy did not sound fine. “I’m sure he owes you one after breaking into your apartment anyways,”

* * *

 

Even with all the overtime May was getting, she struggled to keep her mind occupied at work. Which was why she put in for a transfer to the ER. She had experience. That’s where she first worked right out of school and only transferred when she and Ben received custody over Peter.

She had been there for two weeks, taking overtime and working endlessly and trying to keep her mind from thinking of how _close_ they had been to finally getting Peter back. Only for him to slip through their fingers.

And then it was Christmas and May pleaded with her boss to let her work. Those please were met with the threat of suspension if she didn’t take a break.

Just like on Thanksgiving, the Avengers made their way to her apartment, bringing food and the claim that they were in the neighborhood. May was grateful for them. She wasn’t sure what she would do all alone in an apartment decorated for Christmas.

Tony never showed up and she knew it was because of the last thing she had told him. Yet, she couldn’t find it in herself to take it back. She wanted Peter back and she knew if anyone could do it, it would be him.

Almost a full week later, May found herself working the dreaded New Year's Eve night shift. That was part of her deal with her boss. She would take Christmas off if she could work New Year's. They were always short-staffed those days, so her boss reluctantly took up May's offer.

She walked into the hospital, her eyes on the floor to ignore the pitying smiles of her co-workers and their whispers as she walked past them.

"Poor May,"

"First her husband, now her nephew?"

"Comes with living in Queens,"

May yanked open her locker door. The clattering sound echoed and she didn't hear any other whispers. She stuffed her purse inside and pulled out her phone from her pocket to drop it in her purse.

Out of habit, she unlocked it, hoping for a message that read ' _We've got him._ '

Instead, it said ' _No new notifications_ '

She dropped it in her purse and closed her locker. It was time to get to work and save lives in the only way she knew how. Being a nurse in the ER.

* * *

From what Tony understood, it was New Year's Eve. He hadn't even realized they passed Christmas. It was another holiday to add to the list of things Peter missed while he was...gone.

He was sure the team visited May on Christmas. They were better at remembering what day they were in.

Tony didn’t visit her. He was too engrossed in his research to think about trivial things like what day it was. Besides, May told him not to come back without Peter.

“Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson are in the main lobby, boss. Mr. Murdock needs your help with something,” Friday spoke up, interrupting Tony’s train of thought.

“Does this have anything to do with Peter?”

“They aren't giving me a clear answer,"

"Typical lawyers," Tony grumbled, dropping the pen in hands. “Yes or no. I won't see them if they don't answer the question,”

Friday didn’t respond right away, obviously working on getting an answer. "No, it doesn't,"

"Then I don't have time for them,"

And Tony assumed that was it.

"Boss-"

" _What?!"_ Tony snapped.

"Mr. Murdock has threatened to sue you for property damage,"

"Of all the ridiculous-!"

"You did break into his apartment a few months ago,"

Tony dragged a hand down his face. He hated lawyers. Absolutely hated them. “All right, fine. Take them to the conference room. I’ll meet them there,”

“Yes, boss,”

Tony stood, looking down at his notes and files and cameras. He made a quick note to himself of where his thought process was before being interrupted, then left his workshop for the conference room.

“Murdock, this better be good,” Tony growled as he walked in and took a seat at the conference table. He ignored the wide eyes of Foggy, most likely a combination of seeing Tony Stark again and seeing Tony Stark in his current state of dishevelment. He gestured for them to take a seat and finally noticed what looked like blood trails hastily wiped off from Matt's ears

“Have you heard of a woman named Yvonne Blakewell?” Matt asked, his voice unbelievably soft.

Tony leaned forward to hear better. “Is she important and does any of this have to do with Peter?”

“I’m not-“

“Look, Murdock, I get it, you’ve been helping with finding Peter, but that is my main focus right now and-"

"All we're asking for is a quick search,"

Tony wanted to kick them out. They were wasting his time. But did he have anything truly groundbreaking at the moment? "Friday, run a scan," he turned back to Matt and Foggy while Firday scanned. "Do I even want to know what this is about and why you were bleeding?"

Matt grimaced. "A case,"

Friday spoke before Tony could question them further. "Nothing's come up,"

At this, Tony tilted his head with curiosity. "Absolutely nothing?"

"Uh, what about a search for Richard Blakewell?" Foggy asked, finally speaking for the first time since seeing Tony Stark.

It took a moment, but Friday pulled something up on a drop down screen. "I've only found a death certificate and a report from the morgue,"

Tony frowned at the image. Richard was just a kid, block floppy hair, falling into his lifeless face.

"That's not who I saw," Foggy mumbled. "Okay, pull up the post-mortem of Jacob Wright,"

The picture was placed next to the one of Richard.

"Holy shit, they look like each other," Foggy mumbled, eyes wide with dawning realization. "But then, she's got another kid...oh my God, _Matt_! What if it's her?!"

Tony saw Matt's face drain of color and he felt a icy hand gripping his heart. "Friday, pull up a picture of Peter,"

Another picture was added.

"Was this him?" Tony asked, trying to keep his voice from sounding panicked. "Was this the kid you saw?"

Foggy squinted. “Well, no. That wasn’t-“

“Foggy, describe him. Mr. Stark, can your computer adjust accordingly?”

“The name’s Friday,” the AI answered.

“Go for it,”

“Right, okay, um, the kid was skinny. I’m talking hospital-worthy skinny,”

Peter’s face dropped several pounds with the bones becoming even more defined.

“Black hair almost to his shoulders and…yeah, that’s him,"

Tony felt the blood drain to his feet. They found Peter. He didn’t understand how, but they did. “Address, now!”

Foggy fumbled for his phone. “Uh, we don’t have the exact house number because we were talking with her neighbor and-“

Tony strode across the room and took the phone from Foggy’s hands. “Friday, send this address to the team. I want that place surrounded. Remember, he’s a flight risk, so enter with caution,” he tossed the phone back to Foggy.

Tony narrowed his eyes in thought. “Friday, pull up the drawing of the woman who took Peter,”

A fourth image was added.

Tony had his answer just from the look on Foggy's face. “Friday, inform the team we’ve got a name,” Tony looked back at Matt and Foggy. The blind lawyer who dressed as a devil and wasn’t even supposed to know Peter in the first place and his business associate, a normal guy who insisted on being called Foggy. “I owe you one,”

“We’ll call it even once the kid is back,”

Tony nodded. "Friday, call May Parker. Let her know we have a solid lead. We're bring Peter back,"

* * *

He screwed up. He really screwed things up this time.

_“Previously on Peter screws the pooch,”_

He pulled at his hair. No, he didn’t want to hear that voice. That voice that was always so disappointed in him and hated him and-

Yvonne threw a hoodie and a pair of boots at him, jolting him out of his thoughts. “We’re leaving,”

And this was all too familiar. Just like the last time she left him. But he wanted her to keep protecting him. Didn’t she realize that? He was sorry and he would try so much harder to keep her happy next time.

“Now, Richard!” she yelled.

He held back a yell as a strong shock coursed through him. He pulled on the hoodie and the boots, following her out the door and to her car.

“Lie down, I don’t want anyone seeing you,” she said as she buckled herself in and pulled out of the driveway.

He did as she asked, closing his eyes and wishing he could go back in time and change his actions.

But when he heard Matt’s voice, he couldn’t help himself. It shocked him so much he had dropped his spoon. Yvonne was talking and then Matt started talking and he couldn’t believe it. Yvonne had told him not to move, but he had to see for himself.

And even though he had only seen Matt a few times before, he still looked exactly the same.

Did Matt know what he had done? Was that why he was here?

Except something was wrong, because Matt was holding his ears and walking away.

“Sorry about Matt, he's uh...yeah, anyways. So, you must be Richard,"

He inhaled sharply. Foggy was looking at him with masked concern. It had to be for Matt though. Not for him. Yvonne turned to glare at him then back to the uninvited guests. “I’m sorry, but we were eating and-“

“Well maybe we could come by another time. It’s very important,”

They thought he was Richard. And they were concerned. Maybe they could protect him. Matt was always nice to him before and he wasn’t part of the Avenger’s. He would understand.

But Yvonne had kicked them out and he knew he screwed up the moment she slammed the door in their faces.

He closed his eyes as Yvonne kept driving. Maybe if he stayed really quiet and really still, she would forgive him and take him back to the place where he would always be safe.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here! And earlier than promised! But if I didn't post it tonight, then it was not happening tomorrow because I will have limited access to a computer tomorrow. Anyways, here's this chapter and the last scene of this chapter is what sparked this whole story in the first place. Fair warning, I know nothing of hospitals or emergency rooms and this is basically based off medical dramas. Leave your thoughts because I am dying to know your reaction to this chapter!!! And thank you wonderful readers for all your previous comments and kudos!!!

With the police involved in the investigation, they were to receive notification of any new developments. Of course, no one ever told them the real story behind the Black Friday incident, but now there was no excuse. They received the address moments after Tony sent it to the Avengers.

But the response time of New York’s finest couldn’t compare to a super soldier or a war machine.

Rhodey landed on the street just as Steve was pulling up in his motorcycle. He gave a quick nod of greeting to Steve before turning back to the house. “Tones, Cap and I made it out here. Scanning the house for anything,”

_“Do you see him? Is he there?!”_

Steve winced at Tony’s frantic voice over the comms. “We’re working on it. Making sure there aren’t any immediate threats before going in,”

Rhodey muted his mic and turned to Steve. “My scanners aren’t picking anything up, but Tony has said he’s having issues with the scanners picking up Peter,”

Steve looked around. Already, neighbors were poking their heads out or peeking past their curtains for the show. “Guess we won’t know unless we go in,” he said, making his way up the porch steps. Rhodey could stay behind and deal with any civilians that actually came out to ask what was going on.

The front door was unlocked and opened without a sound. Steve walked in, carefully minding the floor for any creaks.

_“Coming in from the back,”_ Natasha’s voice came over the comms. _“Wanda’s covering the exit here,”_

_“Anything?!”_

Steve moved through the house quietly, He paused in the kitchen, noticing an empty plate and a bowl of half-eaten soup.

_“I don’t sense anyone inside. It’s empty,”_ Wanda said.

_“There’s supposed to be a car in the driveway. Is it still there?”_

Steve didn't remember a car when he pulled up. He looked out the window to be sure. “No. They’re gone,”

He heard repulsors and saw Rhodey take off into the sky. _“Let’s set up a perimeter, Tony. It’s only been an hour. With the way the traffic is right now, there’s no way they could’ve gotten far,”_

“We’ll keep looking here. Maybe we’ll figure out where they went,” Steve said, turning from the kitchen and opening the door to the first room in the hallway.

And it would be best to keep Tony away from the police right now. Steve and Natasha could deal with them when they finally showed up.

Steve looked around the room he walked into. It only had the necessities. A bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. On the nightstand was a picture of a family. A boy with jet black hair and brown eyes smiling at the camera, a man with curly black hair and brown eyes, and a woman with grey eyes with auburn hair.

As soon as Steve focused in on the woman, he recognized her immediately from the video. It was strange though. She looked happy in the picture. No sign of malciousness in her eyes.

Then what happened to her to drive her to kidnap Peter?

He went to the dresser and opened the first drawer. Undergarments and socks. The next drawer, plain shirts and sweaters. The last drawer, just pants and…

Steve felt something hard as he pushed aside the pants. He unfolded the first pair and found empty prescription bottles. Another pair and more empty bottles. By the time he finished searching the drawer, he had at least twenty empty bottles, five filled, and one half empty lined up in front of him. All of them were for Yvonne Blakewell.

He left the room with the half empty bottle. He might not know what the prescription was, but Natasha might.

Natasha was coming out of another room further down the hall. “You find anything?”

Steve tossed the bottle to her as he approached. “Almost thirty of these. Do you know what it is?”

While she read the label, Steve glanced into the room she had just come from. He could smell mold in the room and noticed an obvious temperature difference. A metal-frame bed with a thin mattress was pressed up against the furthest wall and a crate propped up as a nightstand.

This had to be the room she kept Peter in.

“It’s a highly addictive anti-depressant,” Natasha said, looking into the room again. “She had to be giving him this, trying to sedate him or keep him controlled. If this was where he was this entire time, he should’ve been able to get out this room without any problems,”

Steve clenched his fists. They had taken too long to find Peter. Who knows what else happened to him?

Natasha turned away. “Wanda, how far out are the police?”

_“I’d say about five more minutes. And some of the neighbors are starting to come outside,"_

“Come on, there’s something else you should see before the police get here and cause an even bigger commotion,” she said, moving to the end of the hall.

Steve followed, biting back a comment about half the Avengers showing up should cause a big enough commotion. She stopped at an open door at the very end of the hall. A staircase led down to what Steve assumed was the basement. The light was already on from Natasha’s previous investigation.

They walked down and Steve looked around. He couldn’t find anything that would pique Natasha’s interest. “What’s down here?”

“Just watch,” she moved to the very back and Steve saw a projector. She turned it on and a video clip started playing.

Steve frowned. “This is the Parker’s residence and…that’s Peter at the table,” Steve noticed the time stamp. 11:30 PM on the same night he went missing.

On the video, the front door opened and May came in.

_“Oh, fu-! Peter, you scared me! What are you still doing up?”_

Peter got up, holding a knife in his hands.

_“Peter? What are you doing?”_

_“Peter, what’s going on? Did something happen while patrolling? Peter, you’re…you’re scaring me,”_

Steve looked away, but could still hear May’s sharp intake of breath followed by a wet cough.

Natasha shut off the projector. “This woman is either highly skilled in computers, even more than Tony, or we’re dealing with something new,”

“Do you think she showed this to him?”

Natasha nodded. “Judging by the way he reacted when he came back in November, yes. She was brain washing him,”

Steve clenched his jaw, the need to punch something growing.

But they could hear police sirens outside.

“Come on, don’t want the police accusing us of tampering with evidence,” Natasha said with a wry smile.

* * *

 

Something was very wrong. Yvonne had only stopped once and that was to fuel up. She kept driving, but they never left the city. He felt as if they were going in circles, but not once did he get up. She told him to lie down and that’s what he did. Even if he was starting to get light-headed. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't much to eat. There was nothing in his stomach to come back up.

He was sure he dozed off a few times, waking up when the car jostled over a pothole or the honking cars became too loud. Sometimes when he woke up, he could hear Yvonne whispering. He never caught everything she said, but could make out a few words.

“All wrong…not enough time…ruined everything…just want my little dove back,”

He wanted to tell her he was back. He was her little dove and he was right here with her in the car. But even if he made a sniffling noise, he felt a shock and he would choke back whatever other noise was about to leave his mouth.

It was always so much worse when he couldn't hold back his coughs.

And after hours of driving, Yvonne finally stopped. He didn’t get up, his heart thumping and hoping she didn’t bring him back to Queens. She had parked the car, but didn’t get out. He could see her looking around.

Yvonne pulled on some gloves and reached over to grab a paper bag from the glove compartment. “Get up,” she hissed.

He listened, climbing out of the car when she did. He shivered. It was colder than the last time she took him outside. And he couldn’t help looking around. The buildings seemed familiar for some reason. But his vision was fuzzy and he couldn’t make out any of the street signs and there was something falling from the sky.

Was that snow?

“Come on,” Yvonne said, walking towards an alley.

He followed after her, boots uncomfortably tight, but protecting him from the snow on the ground. There were a few people on the streets, but not to the point where he would easily lose Yvonne. Either way, he stayed close to her side, hoping not to catch anyone’s attention.

She stopped right by a dumpster, looking around again and her eyes landing on something. They flashed and he expected a shock. But he didn’t feel anything.

“Sit down. I need to give you medicine,”

He didn’t argue, but did let out gasp as he sat on the cold concrete, the snow soaking his pants immediately. She was going to give him medicine. This was a good thing.

From the paper bag, she pulled out a needle and a vial. She pushed the needle in the vial, drew out some of the liquid, then turned to him. “Roll up your sleeve,”

He did as she asked, but his heart beat violently. “What is that?”

Yvonne shoved it into a vein. He flinched at the pain, but it turned into a shudder as he felt the liquid enter his system.

She pulled it out and dropped the needle in the snow beside him. She reached back into the paper bag again, this time pulling out a scalpel. She grabbed his hair, yanking him forward and pushing his head down to expose his neck.

He didn’t fight against her. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. The world was spinning and melting and it was so cold and his lungs hurt and he just wanted the medicine to help him already. He wanted to be better so she would call him little dove again.

There was a sharp pain in his neck and he felt something trickling down his spine. Was that snow? Or the medicine? Or something else entirely?

The pain stopped and his head lolled to the side. Someone was whistling. He had never heard Yvonne whistle.

He could hear the paper bag rustling and Yvonne muttering something. He tried to meet her eyes, but she didn’t look at him. Instead, she stood up and hurried out of the alley.

She left him behind.

He tried to stand, but none of his muscles were responding. His body felt like lead and the whistling was getting closer and the world was still melting, melting, melting, melting…

The whistling stopped. “Hey, kid, you got a death wish or what?”

He looked up. An older man stood over him. He blinked. It was Uncle Ben.

What was he doing here? Uncle Ben was gone.

“Kid, you with me?”

He tried to saying something, but could barely manage opening his mouth. He blinked again, his eyes feeling sluggish, and it wasn’t Uncle Ben anymore. But then it was and then it wasn’t and he wished the man would stop moving so he could figure out who he was.

The man’s eyes wandered to the needle beside him. “Huh, a junkie then. And a stupid one at that,”

He didn’t say anything. He couldn’t physically respond.

“Hey. Hey, you with me?”

There a light slap to his face. His vision swam as he tried to react, tried to push back against the brick wall. But he just felt his head limply fall to the other side.

“Damn, kid, how much did you take?”

It was medicine. It was good for him. Yvonne knew he needed it.

“Look, there’s a hospital three blocks over. Think you can get there?”

He could barely keep his eyes open. Ben/Not Ben kept talking. He was sure it was important though. Ben always had important things to say. Unless this was Not Ben. Then he he shouldn't listen to him.

“Not like I was planning on counting down ‘till midnight,” the man grumbled. He reached down and began hoisting him up.

He tried to struggle as he felt himself being moved. Yvonne was coming back. She had to. She would never leave him. She was protecting him. How would she come for him again if he moved?

Ben/Not Ben didn’t understand. But he couldn't make his vocal chords work to explain himself.

Explosions went off in the sky. It was so loud and bright and the colors were everywhere. Someone was screaming and there were yells mixed in. He couldn’t figure out where all the noise was coming from

And his eyes rolled back into his head before he could figure it out.

* * *

New Year’s Eve was always busy. Especially just after midnight. Illegal fireworks and gun shots within the city limits were always the main culprits. It was fun and people wanted to celebrate, no matter how high the fines were or how dangerous it could become.

But the shift manager forced May to take a break minutes before midnight. Go for a walk. Eat something. Take care of yourself.

She wanted to argue, but knew they would send her home if she did. No matter how many hands they needed on deck at the moment. So she pulled on jacket and walked around the block, choosing to leave her phone off and unchecked in her locker. She found a protein bar in her pocket and managed to eat half of it, saving the rest for after her shift. Or for the next time she was hungry.

The cold air always seemed to clear her mind. But she did regret not putting on her hat. It was starting to snow and the little flakes were going to melt in her hair.

She wondered if Peter knew it was snowing. He never complained about the snow like the average person. He loved it and May even found videos of him as Spiderman last year on Youtube, joining a snowball fight in Central Park.

The fireworks in Times Square started lighting up the sky. Other noises began mingling in as the city celebrated a new year as one.

But she could hear a scream mixing in the noise. And it wasn’t a celebratory one. May shivered, wrapping the jacket closer around her and wondering if she would see this person who screamed at the hospital when her break was over.

She walked for a few more minutes, keeping her head down and struggling between pulling up fond memories and pushing said fond memories away.

The fireworks were done when she finally made it back into the hospital. Now, it was time to deal with the people who were coming in to pay the price for their reckless fun. Doctors and nurses were scurrying around, clipboards in hand as they pushed gurneys and injected medicine and hooked up IV’s and staunched bleeding wounds.

“Parker! You still got five minutes on the clock for break!”

May looked up to the shift manager, sitting behind the desk with her glasses perched on her nose. She met her gaze with defiant eyes.

She shook her head. “You’re needed in one seventeen. Some homeless man just brought in a John Doe who’s ODing,”

May nodded, running down the hall and into the room. It was only Dr. Ibarra and two other nurses. Oh yes, New Year’s Eve was always short-staffed.

“May! Get in here and stitch up his neck. We’ve got a deep incision that’s been bleeding steadily for who knows how long,”

She moved fast, glancing at their patient to pick up the fact that he was young, possibly a minor, but nothing else.

“He’s got all the symptoms for hypothermia. We need to get his temperature back up,” one of the nurses said he poked an IV into his hand then moved on to cutting off the hoodie to connect him to another machine.

“Yes, but priority is figuring out what he took and what we can give him to make sure it doesn’t counteract with any other medicine,” Dr. Ibarra countered.

“Hang on, there’s something in his neck where the incision was made,” May said, leaning down to try and see what it was.

But then the patient jerked, moving to his back, his eyes wide as he took in his surroundings.

“Shit! How is he awake?! We need the lab results back already!”

May dropped the needle as she looked at him. Her heart jumped into her throat and the air left her lungs. “ _Peter_? Oh my God, it’s Peter! Peter, look at me!”

She didn’t notice the looked exchanged between the doctor and the other nurses or the fact that the Dr. Ibarra pressed one of the buttons on the wall for emergency assistance.

She could only focus on his wide eyes, pupils dilated with the drug and fear.

Then she saw the white of his eyes as they rolled back and his body began convulsing.

“He’s seizing! Time it!”

The heart monitor was already attached to him by this point. And it was beeping erratically as he convulsed on the gurney and was rolled to his side.

“We have to give him something! I am not going to lose him!” May yelled.

The door opened and another nurse came in. “Got the results! He’s shot up with benzodiazepine,”

“Damnit! Someone get Parker out of here!”

A pair of strong hands were on May's arms. And before she could pull away, Peter’s body went slack and the heart monitor was giving one long beep.

“No, no, no, Peter! Peter, come back to me baby!” May exclaimed, pulling away from Harris to grab his face. She inhaled sharply at how cold his skin was, pushing away the dyed hair from his face and feeling how his skin stretched over his bones. “Please, Peter, I can’t lose you too!”

He didn’t respond.

And the hands were pulling at her again, taking her out of the room.

“No! Peter! Don’t take him away from me!” May cried, struggling against the arms.

But she was deposited in the hallway and the door to the room slammed shut. Someone was speaking to her, trying to get her to calm down.

May could only hear the pounding of her own heart and the heart monitor still giving one long beep. She could see inside the room through the window on the door. There were more nurses in there and Dr. Ibarra was currently doing chest compressions. They were putting tubes and wires in him, but it would be pointless if they couldn’t get his heart beating again.

“Peter, please,” May whispered. “Please don’t leave me, baby,”

The green line of the heart monitor jumped with a pulse. Then two. Then three. And it was so slow, but he had a pulse.

May sagged with relief, pressing her head against the door and taking a few deep breaths. She could see Peter in there. He was there and he was alive and they were working on getting him better and-  
  
Oh no. They were working on him. They would need access to his medical files and his blood work.   
  
As much as she did not want to let Peter out of her sight again, she had to call Tony. If he was checked in as a John Doe, then chances were, no one knew he was here.  
  
The nurse that had pulled her out of the room was gone. Most likely working with another patient. And as big as this was that Peter was here, the news of it would travel slow. There were too many patients to be taken care of for people to stop and gossip.  
  
May moved past the patients and nurses in the hall and then the front lobby where those with not as serious injuries were waiting. She noticed a pair of officers talking with the nurse at the front desk.  
  
Then the woman speaking to the officers made eye contact with May and pointed at her. The officers turned to look at May. One of them began approaching her while the other stayed behind to say a few words to the other nurse.  
  
May considered continuing to the locker room, pretending she didn't see the officer coming directly at her. But May couldn't bring herself to do it.  
  
"Mrs. Parker?" the approaching officer asked.  
  
"Yeah, do you need something?" May asked, taking a step back and crossing her arms.  
  
"We need you to come with us. We just have a few questions to ask you,"


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I would be posting on Sundays? Yeah, I'm just way too excited about these chapters and wanting you guys to read it...brace yourselves, it's a longer one

Foggy looked out the window of the conference room just in time to see the finale of a firework show. He glanced down at his watch. 12:03 a.m. “Happy new year,” he muttered, rubbing his face and wondering for the thirtieth time that night how he ended up investigating the ten year old death of Richard Blakewell, comparing it to the death of Jacob Wright and trying to make connections with the little information they knew of Peter Parker’s kidnapping.

And with the database Stark had, their investigation was moving along much further than if they were doing this in their office. Of course, that didn’t mean they were actually getting much of anything still. Files and information were missing, specifically when it came to Richard and sometimes with Peter. But with Peter’s missing files, Matt wasn’t concerned. Part of Foggy wondered if Tony knew about the missing files. But then the other part of him wondered if Tony was the one responsible for the missing files.

“Friday, can you pull up a list of missing kids that show similar features as Richard and Jacob? Let’s go for the last ten years.” Matt asked, slouching in his chair and trying to rub the tension out of his neck.

“There’s an approximate seven hundred-“

Friday suddenly stopped.

Foggy looked up, glancing at Matt. “Did it run out of batteries of something?”

“A new video has come up on the CCTV of Peter. Accessing the video now,” Friday announced.

The two lawyers straightened. “And you’ve told Mr. Stark?” Matt asked.

“Of course,” Leave it to Stark to create an AI that could sound annoyed.

The video started playing. “Okay, so it’s an alley. Can’t really make out any defining landmarks. Time stamped at 11:58 pm,”

Foggy continued describing the video, but Matt heard a ringing. Such a loud and painful ringing, but it was so familiar. Just like when they went to Yvonne’s house and when they saw that video played back in court.

“It’s her,” Matt hissed, covering his ears to try and get the ringing to stop. But he knew it would only stop once the video did. “It’s got to be her,”

“No, it’s not…Friday, pause it,”

The ringing still continued, while Foggy looked at something. Matt shook his head. “I have to get out of here,” he said, stumbling to his feet and leaving Foggy in the conference room. Once the door closed behind him, the ringing turned into a low hum. So much better.

Matt leaned his head against the wall and tried to think. He had barely recovered from the last migraine, now he was stuck with another one. And it didn’t make sense. Matt figured the reason he heard the ringing in the court room was because it was an original. The one they were sent was a copy. Unless Tony had immediate access to all original video files from the CCTV’s.

Which made complete sense.

Yet at the same time didn't. Because why in the world was there a ringing in these videos if Yvonne supposedly wasn't in them?

Foggy came out of the room only a few minutes later, giving Matt enough time to compose himself a little bit. “Okay, so it wasn’t her,”

Matt shook his head, biting back a wince at the movement. “No, it was. I heard the ringing. The same ringing as when we went to her house and then with the video of Jacob,’

“But that’s not what the video _showed_. It was another woman and Friday identified her as May Parker,”

Matt inhaled sharply. “Let me guess. Peter was there too and she was injecting something into him,”

“Yup,”

“Shit. Call Tony. The police have access to this and if they-“

Foggy’s phone began ringing. “Oh, Mr. Stark! We were just talking about…oh, yeah, here he is,”

Matt felt Foggy slide the phone into his hands. “You see the video?”

_“Yes. It’s just three blocks from the hospital May works at. I’m going there right now, but I’m sure the police are looking at this video right now and are going to draw the wrong conclusion,”_

“We’ve got her covered. You get to Peter,”

_“Sending Vision out to meet up with in the city. He’s the only one at this point that can show what really happened on the camera. And take one of my cars. I saw that clunker your friend drives. I need you there faster than what that thing can take you,”_

Tony hung up and Matt gave Foggy his phone back. “What did he say?”

“If you would, walk down the hall to the elevator. I’ll take you directly to Boss’ personal garage,”

Matt could only imagine Foggy’s wide eyes.

* * *

It was officially twenty minutes after the video had been recorded. Friday played it for Tony five minutes after the initial recording, no doubt the same time the police saw it. While the implications of May being on the video concerned him, he knew she could handle herself. He did call the lawyers that were still holed up in the compound to act as her backup though, rightfully assuming Friday showed them the video as well.

Friday pulled up the location of the recording. He recognized the area. May worked at a hospital just a few blocks away. Tony flew across the city, pushing his repulsors as fast as they could go. As he approached the alley, he could see Falcon coming in, landing just moments before Tony did. And he was the one to announce the alley empty.

Tony still landed, trying to find foot prints or something that would tell him why Peter wasn’t there. The falling snow had covered any evidence though and the police would accuse them of tampering if they dug through it. Friday pulled up the rest of the video footage to show a man dragging Peter out of the alley. But Tony didn’t know if he could trust what the video showed him. And when he looked at the other surveillance videos, they only showed static.

“I’ve got a report of a John Doe being admitted to the hospital just around the corner. He matches Peter’s description,” Sam said, catching Tony's attention.

Tony came to the conclusion that it was Peter. Of course that's what happened. Someone checked him into the hospital May worked at. The irony.

Unsurprisingly, he left Sam in the alley, flying the short distance to the hospital. He dropped down right at the entrance of the ER and ran inside to the front desk as his suit disassembled around him. “Where is he?!” he demanded. “What room is he in?!”

The nurse at the desk stared at him, mouth wide open and eyes opened wider.

Tony wanted to shake her. This wasn’t the time to be starstruck! But he did realize he never gave a name. “Peter! Peter Parker! Where is he?!”

“I-I’m sorry. We haven’t had anyone checked in with-“

“Someone brought him in as a John Doe! Where is he?!”

“Oh, well he hasn’t been officially identified-“

Tony was close to ripping out his hair. “Okay, fine! Where’s his aunt then? May Parker?”

“The police actually came by five minutes ago and she left with them,”

Tony slammed his hand on the counter. “Let me see him and I can identify him!”

“Sir, he’s a minor. We aren’t allowed-“

“I have been looking for him for _four months_! Do not tell me what I can and can’t do!”

“Excuse me! Mr. Stark, I will not have you causing a scene!”

Tony turned around to see a doctor walking towards him. He ignored the wide eyes of the patients and the way the other nurses and doctors tried to avoid looking at him to continue their work. “Where is he? Do you know where he is?!”

“Mr. Stark, lower your voice,” she said in a firm tone.

Tony clenched his fists, glancing at her id for a name. “Where is he, Dr. Ibarra?” he ground out.

“We can’t officially confirm yet that it’s Peter,”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, just let me go in there and confirm it!”

“It’s against hospital policy,” Dr. Ibarra said. She took a deep breath as she looked around. She spoke again, but this time in a lower voice. “May was one of the nurses helping when they brought him in. She unofficially identified him, but she was hysterical and we can’t take that as a complete confirmation of him. But, I’ve seen enough pictures to know it’s him,”

“Let me see him,” Tony said in a tone matching hers.

She shook her head. “That I can’t do,”

And Tony knew there was no amount of money he could offer this woman to let him in to Peter’s room. “Then at least give me some information,” he said, his voice taking a pleading tone.

Again, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. But you are neither family nor the police. I can’t give you anything,”

Peter was here. He was within reach _again_ , yet Tony still couldn’t go near him.

“He’s alive and we’re working on keeping it that way. That’s all I can tell you,” the doctor said, before walking away to move on to her next patient.

Tony took several deep breaths, feeling as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest. He needed to breathe.

And as he was reminding himself to breathe, it dawned on him that the doctors and nurses were working on Peter here. In a hospital completely unequipped to deal with his unique physiology with people who weren't even supposed to know about it either.

But Peter was still technically an unidentified minor. There was no way he could get Peter transferred to his own private medical facility. Only May or the police could do that. And the police sure as hell weren’t going to let Tony take him.

He should've been the one to find him. The one to bring him back to warmth and safety, to a place where they could properly treat him. But instead he was here. God, he couldn't even begin to imagine May's reaction when she realized the patient she was working on was Peter.

Tony focused on taking deep breaths again, telling himself Matt was going to walk through those doors any moment with May and that Peter was here and was getting at least some kind of treatment. He was safe and Tony would make sure half the team surrounded this place while the other half continued searching.

Yvonne was still out there. And Tony knew Peter would never truly be safe until she was caught.

* * *

There wasn’t a trashcan in the room. May had checked multiple times. But why would the police need a trashcan in an interrogation room? They only needed a table and two, maybe three, chairs.

But May needed a trashcan. They had shown her the video. The one that showed her, May Parker, dragging Peter into an alley and injecting him with something. His Aunt May. The woman that had missed him all these months. The woman that kept her window open permanently in her apartment, praying Peter would come home. The woman that involved the police in the investigation because Peter was the one taken, not Spiderman.

She was the one they were now accusing of knowing where Peter was all along and attempting to murder him.

And with each moment she spent in this room, away from him, not knowing if Tony or the others knew Peter was at the hospital, her stomach churned. She could feel that half of a protein bar not digesting well and threatening to come up.

God, she needed a trashcan.

May tried to stay calm. She had become slightly hysterical in the hospital room when she finally realized it was Peter they were working on. And that got her kicked out of the room. Becoming hysterical in here would _not_ help her.

But every time she looked down at her hands, she would see small traces of blood. Blood from where she picked at her cuticles out of anxiety. Well, at least she wasn't hysterical.

She didn’t know how long they had left her in the room by herself. She was sure they were watching her from the two-way mirror. Were they discussing if she really did it based on how calm she was? How could they know she was falling to pieces inside? That Peter had been brought in, half dead and frozen, and May didn't even recognize him at first?

The door opened and May sat up. An officer stood in the doorway while two men she had never seen before came in. They both looked like they hadn’t slept for days.

“Mrs. Parker, I’m Matt Murdock and my associate, Foggy Nelson. Mr. Stark sent us and we’ll be representing you,”

At Tony’s name, May stood. “Tony sent you? Then he knows. He knows Peter’s at the hospital? Have you seen him? Is he all right now?” It was hard to keep the trembling hysteria out of her voice. But if either of the men noticed, they said nothing.

“We don’t have any information about him, but the police have released you from custody. We’ll take you to him.

May didn’t need to be told twice. She followed the lawyers out, her head held high as she walked past the detectives that had interrogated her. And Vision was with them. His palm open as a projection played from his fingertips. It showed the same alley from the video they had shown her. The one with Peter and she-

They turned a corner to gather May's belongings before she could see anything else.

Vision and these two lawyers were going to make sure things were cleared up with the police. But that didn't change the fact that they took her away from Peter when he was finally in her grasp.

And it was the first time since this all happened that May regretted involving the police in the investigation.

* * *

He wasn’t cold anymore. He wasn’t sure how he felt actually. But the one thing he knew for sure was that his lungs hurt. And every time he took a breath, he could feel something rattling in his chest. It made him not want to breath anymore. It hurt too much.

Yvonne would come. She would come and give him more medicine and he would be okay. But maybe this time the world wouldn’t melt away. Maybe he would ask her for a different medicine.

He could hear people talking. He tried focusing, but they sounded like they were underwater. Was he underwater?

He peeked his eyes open before shutting them quickly with a small gasp. It was so bright. Why was it bright? Was it daytime already? And the sharp breath he had taken hurt. _So much._ He felt the tickle in his throat. He needed to cough. But he couldn’t. Yvonne didn’t like hearing him cough. Because that meant he was sick and he wasn't sick. Yvonne told him so.

“Is he awake again? How the hell does he keep waking up? How much dosage did you give him?”

“If we give him more, we’re risking an overdose again. I don’t know why he’s waking up,”

"Well we can't do anything for him until he's unconscious! Do you want to be the one to explain his screams when we have to reset his wrist?!"

What were they talking about? He didn’t recognize their voices. Where was Yvonne? Why couldn’t he hear her? Was she even here? He tried opening his eyes again. He needed to see her. Once he saw her, he would know he was safe.

There were a few beeps going off. He didn’t know what it was, but it was getting loud. Too loud. He could hear so many footsteps and people talking over each other. A door opened and closed. He finally opened his eyes.

The light was still too bright and his head was starting to pound. But he had to see Yvonne. Where was she? There were too many people in the room. Way too many and he didn’t recognize any of them. And he didn’t even recognize the room. He kept looking around and saw wires and lines running under a blanket that was covering him. There were machines all around and one of them was starting to beat faster. He felt his heart beating fast and wondered if somehow the machine was matching the beating of his heart.

With everything he saw, he didn’t see Yvonne. She wasn’t here. She wasn’t here and that meant he wasn’t safe.

The door opened again. Was it Yvonne? He strained his neck to see.

It wasn’t her. In fact, he didn’t know who it was. He blinked and blinked again, but the face wasn’t focusing. Whoever it was, they were coming closer to him. They were saying something, but he couldn’t understand. The voice was garbled and it sounded awful.

Then suddenly, their hand was in his hair before it moved down to cup his face. He flinched away at the touch. That wasn't Yvonne's hand.

They pulled their hand away, but they were still talking. And he wished they would stop. Because he couldn’t understand anything and the beeping was getting faster and louder and _where was Yvonne_?

He looked back to the unidentifiable person and saw someone coming up behind them.

And this person he recognized immediately.

Tony Stark.

He felt his chest tighten and he tried to push away from everyone. He opened his mouth to say something, but ended up gagging. He couldn’t talk. The coughs spilled from his throat and he tried to breathe. But something was wrong and his lungs didn’t want to cooperate.

“You need to leave!” someone was yelling.

Tony was talking, but he couldn’t hear him. Not over the ringing and the beeping and everything was so _loud_!

Someone was placing something over his face. He brought his hands up, trying to push it away, but another person grabbed his hands and forced flat by his side. He shut his eyes, moving his head away from whatever it was they were putting on him.

He could hear Tony yelling. He couldn’t understand his words, but he was sure it had something to do with him. Maybe he was telling them to kill him. Make him pay for what he did. But he was Richard and Yvonne promised she would protect him.

She _promised_.

Something was holding his wrists down. He kept jerking away crying out as his bad wrist pulled against whatever it was. They kept trying to cover his face with something, but they pulled it away when they heard a loud ripping sound.

"How the hell did he do that?!"

"Sedate him before he hurts himself!"

And his good hand was suddenly free. He used it to pull at his other hand. He needed to get away. He had to get out of here and find Yvonne!

His free hand was grabbed again, this time by a red metal hand. He looked up from the gauntlet to the scowling face of Tony Stark.

"No. No, no, no, I promise, it was an accident! It wasn't me! I'm not him anymore!" the words spilled from his mouth and he didn't even try to get out of his grip.

Tony was saying something, his scowl deepening and Peter was sure this was it.

And they finally put the thing over his face. It covered his mouth and nose and he tried not to breath. But the coughing and his pleas left him breathless and he sucked in the air deeply.

The machines were still beeping, but the world was starting to melt away again. It was melting, melting, melting and maybe when it stopped, Yvonne would be there.

If Tony didn't kill him first.

* * *

Tony watched May as she stood in the hallway after being kicked out of Peter’s room. She was leaning against the wall, her breaths coming in quick and eyes darting around the floor. But she closed her eyes and took a deliberate deep breath. In. Out. In. Out.

It reminded Tony that he needed to do the same thing. He looked down at his hands, one of them still covered by the gauntlet. And Peter's terrified face as Tony held his hand down flashed in his memory.

Nearly an hour after Tony came to the hospital, May finally came back, in her scrubs and flanked on either side by Murdock and Nelson. She was able to officially confirm it was Peter in the room and once that was done, she immediately began filling out the paperwork to have him transferred, specifically to the Avenger’s compound.

And he could hear the questions from the nurses and doctors and the other patients who were coherent enough to understand what was happening. None of them could understand the concern Tony Stark had with this resurfaced intern. Was it a charity case or something? But Matt and Foggy stayed and pulled their lawyer tricks and all questions were avoided.

At least the press hadn’t found out yet. Then there would be unavoidable questions. And the majority of the patients in the ER were too tired, drunk, or didn’t care to take any pictures for social media. Thank God for holidays.

The entire time though, Tony did not see May breakdown. Her eyes were hard as steel and her jaw seemed to be permanently set. She was dead set on getting Peter out of this hospital before anyone could begin figuring things out.

When all the paperwork was turned in and they were simply waiting on approval, a nurse came out of the room where Peter was. “May, he’s waking up. With everything we gave him, it should be impossible. He's starting to go through a panic attack and we need you in there to calm him down,”

May immediately stood, feet moving quickly to the room and she paused in the doorway, turning to look back at Tony.

Tony took this as an invitation.

And it was officially the first time Tony saw Peter since the Black Friday incident. He had hoped it wouldn’t be true, but Peter looked so much worse this time around.

It wasn’t helping that he was hooked up to several machines with wires in his body and the nurses scurrying around the room to try and keep his condition stable.

Tony let May approach first. She ran her hand through his black hair that looked so wrong on him. He flinched away, his eyes unfocused for a moment until he looked at her.

“Peter? Baby, it’s me. We got you back. You’re safe,” May’s voice cracked a little, but was steady for the most part.

And Peter continued staring at her as if he had never seen her before.

Then Tony stepped forward, unable to help himself. “Kid, I’m…” Tony had no idea what he was going to say.

He didn’t get the chance to figure that out. Peter’s eyes widened when he saw Tony. And the machines began going crazy and Peter was trying to get out of the bed and pushing away from everyone.

“You need to leave!” Dr. Ibarra yelled turning to Tony and May.

“What’s wrong with him?! You have to do something! You have to get him to calm down!” Tony yelled back, feeling his heart clench as Peter writhed on the bed, trying to get away. And there was nothing Tony could do to stop it.

Just as they reached the door, they heard the sound of something ripping.

Peter had ripped off one of the straps holding his wrists down and was now working on the other.

"Sedate him before he hurts himself!" Dr. Ibarra yelled, ignoring May and Tony.

Despite everything that was wrong with Peter, Tony knew the animal instinct had kicked in. And with his strength, things could end very badly for everyone in the room.

Which was why Tony found himself next to Peter, one of his gauntlets on, holding his free wrist down.

Peter looked at him with a terror that chilled Tony's bones.

"No. No, no, no, I promise, it was an accident! It wasn't me! I'm not him anymore!" Peter cried out, his eyes filling with tears as he shrunk away from Tony. He didn't even try getting away from him.

"Pete, kid, it's all right. It's just me. We're getting you help. Everything's going to be all right,"

But his eyes were glassy and the terror that filled them didn't go away. Not until the oxygen mask was secured and Dr. Ibarra injected something into his IV.

Peter's body went limp and Tony dropped his hand, taking several steps back.

Dr. Ibarra finally pushed them out into the hallway, giving them no explanation as to what was happening.

And after all that, everything that happened since Peter was taken seemed to finally catch up to May.

Despite the hysteria he felt building up in him again, Tony pushed it aside, ignoring the voices in his head accusing him of being an emotionally constipated being and unable to provide comfort to anyone. But he had to. For May.

He barely managed to catch her as her knees gave in. She clutched Tony’s arms, burying her face in his chest as she finally let out the tears she had restrained all night. Tony held her, disassembling the gauntlet and reminding himself to breathe. It wouldn’t be good for them both to have a breakdown at the same time.

But then May whispered something Tony was too afraid to say himself. Even if it was the truth.

“That’s not my Peter. My Peter didn’t make it back,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I know how the legal system works? Nope. Do I know how hospitals work? Nope. This just me and my creative license and how I think things happen. Also, I have always thought May is one of the most emotionally strong character ever. I hope she didn't seem aloof or anything. She's just trying to get her baby the treatment he needs and will do whatever it takes. Anyways, leave comments and tell me what you think!! I love every single comment you lovelies are leaving!!


	14. Chapter 14

Tony was grateful for the automatic doctor-patient confidentiality. Nothing seen in that room would ever leave the room. If it did, he was sure Murdock would slap them all with a lawsuit. And that would be before Tony’s personal lawyers got involved.

But they were all May’s co-workers and. they cared about her. Or at the very least, they felt sorry for her. None of the nurses or doctors would speak a word about Peter and his... _abnormalities._

Who they really had to worry about were the patients and the families coming in and out of the ER. They might not know about Peter and what happened in his room, but they knew Tony Stark was there. After not appearing in public for four months, not including the short press conference in November, of course they were going to be curious as to why he was here now. In a hospital in Queens of all places.

The transfer was approved almost immediately after the incident in Peter's room. Yes, it skipped a few channels and was missing a few signatures, but everyone knew May and if she wanted her nephew out of that place, then everyone in the hospital was going to make sure of it.

They moved Peter while he was sedated, sent inside one of the Avengers helicarriers. Dr. Ibarra had been timing how long Peter would stay out with the sedatives they were giving him. She gave them thirty minutes before he would wake up again.

Thankfully, it would only take twenty to get him into the medbay.

And while there was plenty of room for everyone to ride in the helicopter, only May rode with him. Going by Peter’s reaction when he saw Tony, he decided it would be best to not go near him for the time being.

No matter how much it killed him.

When Tony came back down from the roof after overseeing that everything was in order, he was met with Matt and Foggy.

“You two still here?” Tony asked, brushing past them for the exit.

They followed behind. Foggy began rambling. More than usual, most likely due to the fact that he wasn't used to sleep deprivation. Unlike Tony and Matt. “Well, Mr. Stark, we do still have your car. I mean, yeah, I guess you could’ve used your Iron Man suit to get back and everything-“

“The press is outside,” Matt interrupted. “I’m guessing one of the patients finally posted something,”

Tony stopped, looking in the waiting room to see who was stupid enough to let something like this leak.

Judging from the fact that most were in here due to some kind of celebration gone wrong, Tony came to the conclusion that all of them were stupid enough.

“What do they have?” Tony asked, running a hand through his hair and knowing there was no way he was camera ready.

“Nothing about Peter. Just that you’re here,”

Tony took a deep breath. They made it to the exit. And he could see the swarm of reporters and flashing cameras. “I’ll make sure it stays that way,”

* * *

 

For more than thirty years, May worked as a nurse. Was it what she always wanted to do? No. But the schooling was cheaper and much more practical than getting a degree in philosophy. And it served it’s purpose, providing income, differentiating between a minor illness and something that needed medical attention.

But as she watched Peter’s body seize a second time (who knows how many other times it happened while she was in police custody), she knew she needed much more than her nursing degree to help her nephew.

Besides, she was pushed to the side by the medical team when it happened. They needed her out of the way and honestly, May didn’t think she could watch it happen again.

When they landed on the roof of the Avenger’s compound, Peter was beginning to wake up again. And May would’ve followed the medical team if Happy hadn’t been on the roof waiting for her.

They still followed at a distance for a while, but then Happy began leading her down another hallway.

May stopped. “Don’t you dare take me to another room,”

“Mrs. Parker, it’s been a long night and there’s nothing you can do for him at this point. Our team needs to work on him and you can’t be in the same room,”

“He has been away from me for _four months_. And when I finally have him back, the police came and took me away. I understand I can’t be in the same room while they work, but you will not move from the hallway right outside his door. And as soon as I can, I will be in that room. Understood?”

Happy wondered if Pepper took lessons from May on having a gaze of steel.

The best chair was brought up and placed right outside the door of the room where they were working on Peter. There were no windows and the room was soundproofed, but May still sat there.

Staring at the door and waiting for someone to come out and tell her something.

* * *

 

He wasn’t safe. He couldn’t explain how he knew that, but he just did. Everything was dark and foggy now. It felt like he was moving, but not really? As if he were floating.

Floating and floating and floating…

A scream made him fall back down from floating. Who screamed? What was happening? If someone was screaming, that meant he was not in a safe place.

And then there was fire.

He couldn’t see the fire or smell any smoke, but he could feel it on his hand. Someone was putting his hand in a fire and he couldn’t move it.

Now that he was actually trying, he realized he couldn’t move _at all_. Not even a little twitch of his fingers.

Cold ice began flowing through his veins. And whatever it was, it put out the fire on his hand. He couldn’t feel anything. He was floating again…

Something was being pulled out of him. He didn’t know where, but it felt strange and not right and he wanted to tell them to stop. To put it back…whatever it was.

His mouth was opened and he could feel something traveling down his throat. He wanted to gag. This wasn’t right. What was happening? He needed to open his eyes and tell them to stop it and take him back. Yvonne would come back for him and he needed to stay in the same place.

But then he felt himself floating again. Floating away from everything. And he liked it. Floating was safe. Far away from all the dangers Yvonne told him of.

Floating, floating, floating…

* * *

 

By the time Tony made it back to the Avenger’s compound, there was only an hour left before the sun rose on the New Year. Matt and Foggy left, the latter to sleep for the rest of the day and the other to most likely continue his investigation.

Tony had asked Happy to send him updates on Peter and what the medical staff was doing. Aside from a text saying they made it in, Happy gave him no other information.

He went directly to the medbay and found May sitting just outside the door to Peter’s room.

Before he could approach, the door opened and Dr. Wu came out, quickly closing the door behind him.

May stood. “Is he okay? Is he awake?”

Dr. Wu blew out a deep breath. Tony braced himself for a long explanation. “He's sedated again, but he's stable. They gave him treatment for his overdose at the other hospital, however we did have to give him a little extra because of his metabolism," he looked down at his clipboard and began reading from a list. "He’s hypothermic, has pneumonia, malnourished, and we had to re-break his wrist as it had been broken before, but didn't heal correctly. The pneumonia is severe and caused his lungs to fill with fluid. He's on antibiotics and we had to placed him on a ventilator to give his lungs a break. Thankfully, he hasn’t developed lung abscesses, but we’re keeping a close eye on him. The fluid should go away on it's own, but we might have to remove it if it's been too long.

"Right now, we're relying on his healing factor to get him in a better place sooner rather than later, but we do have to consider how he is malnourished and how that’s affecting his system,” Dr. Wu said, taking only a few breaths in between each statement.

“There was something in his neck,” May started, “I don’t know what it was, but did you get it out?"

Dr. Wu nodded, pulling out a plastic bag with a small chip in it. “I have no idea what it is or what it even does, but I’m guessing you’ll want to look at it,” he said, directing the statement towards Tony.

Tony took the bag, ignoring his feelings for once of how he felt about taking things from other people’s hands. It was a simple chip, no brand names anywhere that he could pick out. But he was sure this little chip held so much more information and could help them figure out exactly what Peter needed.

And maybe it would even explain why he was terrified of Tony.

“Can I go in and see him?” May asked

“I’m really sorry, Mrs. Parker, but we need to keep the room free of contaminants while he’s on the antibiotics. You won’t be able to go in for a few days. We have him sedated right now, but he’s bound to wake up in a few hours,”

“Oh,”

If Tony didn’t know any better, he would’ve heard the tiniest hint of fear and worry and panic in May’s voice. But she squared her shoulders and took a step closer to Dr. Wu.

“Dr. Wu, I have not seen my nephew for more than four months now. I went through holidays without him, thinking he could be dead. I refuse to spend one more moment without him. I will put on a freaking hazmat suit if that’s what it takes for me to be in the same room with him. I will not have him waking up to an empty room,”

Dr. Wu looked at Tony as if expecting backup, but Tony just raised an eyebrow, asking if he really wanted to argue with May right now.

He let his shoulders sag in defeat. “No, you don’t need to wear a hazmat suit. Just, um…you’ll have to change into some sterile scrubs and wear a mask, but…yeah, I’ll go prep the stuff for you right now,” he motioned with his head for Tony to follow him.

Tony followed, not chancing a look back at May. “What else is there?”

When the turned the corner, Dr. Wu stopped and faced Tony. “Christ, Tony, he woke up a little right as we had to re-break his bone. I wasn't sure if the room was sound proofed enough to keep his aunt from hearing him,"

He shook his head, clearing the memory. "May obviously didn’t see it when she was in the room working on Peter, but that implant we pulled out…the inside of the muscle where we pulled it out from was completely destroyed. It looked like electrical burns,”

If Tony was the one to find Yvonne, she would not make it to police custody. “Anything else you didn’t want to mention in front of May?” he asked, his voice tight as he tried to keep control of his emotions.

Dr. Wu let out deep breath. “Honestly, it’s a miracle he’s still alive. And I’m not just referring to the overdose he experienced. With how far the pneumonia progressed, his organs should’ve begun shutting down a long time ago. Combined with the hypothermia, that alone would’ve killed anyone else,”

Tony let the information sink in and tried to find the reason why Dr. Wu was telling him this. But he couldn’t. “Okay, so this is great news that he’s here and he’s alive and finally getting treatment, right?”

Dr. Wu scrunched up his face into a conflicted expression. “What I’m trying to say is there’s a chance he might not make it through the next 24 hours,”

And Tony felt the world beginning to spin.

This was impossible. Peter was back. He was back and getting the right treatment and Tony would _not_ lose him.

And then there was May to consider. She was a nurse. Did she know all of this already? Or was she playing the role of the optimist?

"Like I said before, we're relying on his enhanced healing now. But there is a chance that with the increase of things going into his system, his body might go into overdrive and burn through everything before it has a chance to work,"

“Then do everything you can to make sure he makes it through,”

He didn’t care if Dr. Wu had more to tell him. Tony wasn’t sure he could handle it. So he brushed past the doctor down to his workshop.

Now, to figure out what the hell this chip did to Peter.

* * *

 

While May wanted to be in the room with Peter, she was fighting the urge to run out of the room and never look back.

Peter was tiny underneath all the wires and blankets and tubes running in and out of him. There was the constant beeping from the heart machine and the hiss from the ventilator.

For a while, May just sat in the chair they brought in, watching his chest rise and fall with help from the ventilator.

Everyone May had lost in her life had all come from sudden accidents. Quick and unexpected deaths. But when Peter was taken, it was long and drawn out. Even though it was never confirmed that was he alive, the only time being Thanksgiving night going into Black Friday.

Now here he was, lying in the bed in front of her, a machine breathing for him, antibiotics constantly pumping through his veins, and the skin on his face pulled tightly over his bones caused by what May could assume was starvation.

May was a nurse. She wasn’t stupid. She knew medical terms and statistics and the phrases doctors used when they weren’t saying everything.

She didn’t need enhanced hearing to know when Dr. Wu pulled Tony aside, it was to tell him the likelihood of Peter making it through the next 24 hours was unlikely.

And May was too tired to have hope or bitterness or doubt or ignorance.

She just wanted her Peter back. Before she inevitably lost him again.

At least this time, she would have more than five minutes to mentally and emotionally prepare herself for this loss.

Two hours after sitting and just watching the repetitive movement of his chest, May asked one of the nurses for a pair of scissors.

They brought it to her after disinfecting it.

She didn’t know if she would see her Peter in those closed eyes again. But she could at least cut his hair. He always hated for it to go past his neck. And even though that woman had dyed it the wrong color, May could still cut it. And maybe that would be the first step to truly getting her Peter back.

* * *

 

Everything felt…odd. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel nice. Was uncomfortable the word he was looking for? He wasn’t sure.

But at least it was warm. The warmest he could ever remember being.

And after a few moments, he thought he might have opened his eyes. He couldn’t be sure since everything was so foggy and his eye lids felt like they each weighed a ton.

“-ter? Can you hear me honey?”

He tried moving his head to find the voice. But he couldn’t. The only thing he could really move were his eyes. And even then it felt like running a marathon just to get his eyes to move and focus.

When he finally did though, he was sure he was doing something wrong. Because right where he was looking and focusing on was May.

Aunt May.

Living and breathing and crying and smiling at him.

But…the video? No, this was a trick. This wasn’t real. May wasn’t here. She’s de…he lost control…no, _Peter_ lost control. He wasn’t Peter anymore! He wasn’t Peter!

“Peter, baby, I need you to calm down. Look at me and calm down. Everything is all right. I’m here, you’re safe. You’ve just got a ventilator to help you breath, give your lungs a chance to heal up. I know it’s uncomfortable, but it’ll only be in for a little bit,”

May was talking to him. She was talking to him and holding his hand and even though he couldn’t really understand everything she said, he still heard her. She was here.

But if she was here, then did that mean…?

“Hey Peter,”

And even though that wasn’t his name anymore, he still looked up at the new voice.

Uncle Ben was standing behind May. But he looked…different. Blurry. And as hard as he tried, he couldn’t get his eyes to focus on him.

“It’s time to pick, Peter,” Ben said. “You gonna stick around with May for a while longer or come with me?”

He wanted to say something. Ask for an explanation. Ask why he could see them and why he could feel May’s hand squeezing his.

“If you ask me, I think May could use you around some more. But it’s your decision and there’s no wrong choice. We’ll both understand either way,”

Ben was confusing him. Why did he have to chose? Why couldn’t he have both? Why was only May holding his hand and not Ben?

No, he needed to close his eyes and concentrate. Make sure he picked the right thing.

Even though Yvonne wasn’t here. She wasn’t here, but May was. And it was just too confusing and he needed to sleep before he made a decision.

“I love you, Peter,”

Both Ben and May said it at the same time. And it happened to be the exact moment he felt his eyes close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I know nothing of medicine or hospital and this is all based on my horrible research skills...


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this one was a struggle to get out...and I've got a bit of a head cold too, so I'm sure that didn't help...either way, enjoy!

His heart stopped. May saw the flatline on the screen and she squeezed his hand tighter, calling his name, begging for just a little more time.

But then the door opened and Dr. Wu and several nurses came in, pushing her out into the empty hall. And she waited, listening for anything.

Tony came running down the hall just a few minutes later. “What happened? What’s going on?”

May shook her head. “I don’t know. His heart stopped and…and they pushed me out and I have no idea what’s happening,”

“Friday! What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m unable to share that information with-“

“Override! Override and just tell me what the hell is going on with him!”

Friday was silent and May began counting the seconds.

“His heart is beating again. Steadily,”

May felt her shoulder relax. “Anything else you can tell us?”

“It seems as if Dr. Wu is prepping him for emergency surgery,”

Tony snapped his head up. “What? Why?”

Before Friday could answer, Dr. Wu himself stepped out. “You shouldn’t use your AI to tell you what’s going on,”

“Why are you prepping him for surgery?” May demanded before the conversation could turn elsewhere. She looked over Dr. Wu’s shoulder to see the nurses working, fluttering about and getting things ready while Peter laid so still on his bed.

Dr. Wu pursed his lips, stepping further out of the room to close the door behind him. “With everything that his body is trying to recover from, there could be a variety of reasons his heart stopped. However, I am concerned about the area where we pulled out that chip from,” he paused and looked down.

May felt her heart sinking. Something was wrong. And she was sure this had to do with what he didn’t say before.

“There may have been damage to his brain stem caused by the chip as it seems it was used to electrocute him. Now, I’m sorry, but that’s really all the information I can share with you. I need to get back in there and this may take a while. I suggest you both get some rest in the meantime,”

And Dr. Wu disappeared back into the room before either of them could argue.

“I’m not leaving,” May said, just in case Tony tried convincing her otherwise.

But Tony wasn’t planning on following Dr. Wu’s orders either. He needed to figure out what that chip did and he was nowhere close to uncovering everything. “I’ll have someone bring up a chair again,”

* * *

While Peter was in surgery, Tony had something to distract himself. Taking apart the chip and examining every wire and piece. He called Vision in from the search to help him.

They were actually getting anywhere with the search though. Yvonne seemed to have vanished. Police were patrolling the area and keeping sights on her house, but she never came back. No CCTV’s picked up her face and they didn’t even have a license plate number to track.

And Tony knew that Peter would never truly get better until Yvonne was in custody and paid for the damage she had done.

With these plans of tracking down Yvonne and taking apart the chip, the time was passing much faster for Tony.

But May sat outside of the room where they were operating on Peter. Waiting. With her thoughts constantly chasing each other, going round and round. If his brain stem really was damaged, then it was irreversible. No matter what kind of inhuman healing he had.

And in the most darkest moments, May caught herself wondering what she would say at his funeral.

Occasionally, one of the Avenger’s would come by as they were coming back in from their search, sit with her for a while and say nothing. Only offering their presence as comfort.

May would have it no other way.

Pepper brought her some coffee. She was dressed in her press conference clothes. May blew the steaming drink. “So everyone knows?” she asked softly.

“They know Peter’s back, yes. Wanted to get in front of this before any rumors could circulate,”

“Were the police there?”

Pepper nodded. “I managed to check out their statement before they gave it though. No details have leaked and this place is a fortress. There’s no way reporters could make their way in for a scoop,”

“And the search?” May asked. She hadn’t bothered asking any of the passing team members. She knew Pepper would be the only one who would give her the truth.

“It’s gone cold. They’re still looking, but…”

May took another sip. “The chances are slim,” Just like the chances of survival for Peter.

Pepper squeezed May’s shoulder before walking away.

Another hour later, Dr Wu finally came out.

“Well?” May stood as soon as he came out.

“His brain stem is fine,” Dr. Wu said, letting out a deep breath.

May gave a sigh of relief. At least that was one thing they didn’t have to worry about. “So then why did his heart stop?”

Dr. Wu shook his head. “We’re still not entirely sure. It could’ve just been a combination of everything. The stress, malnourishment, pneumonia,"

And May didn’t want to hear everything that was wrong with him again. “When will he wake up?”

Dr. Wu shifted uncomfortably. “Where's Tony?”

“Not here. I asked you a question, Dr. Wu,”

Another deep breath from the doctor and May was ready to grab his shoulders and shake the information out of him. “I don’t know when he’ll wake up. He’s fallen into a coma,”

May closed her eyes. A coma. She could hear Dr. Wu continue to explain what this entailed. They would have to watch his brain functions, make sure his heart didn’t stop again. He was already on a ventilator, so they didn’t have to do that.

But when he gave his estimated guess on the chances of Peter waking up again, May blocked him out. She had enough medical knowledge to come up with those numbers on her own.

And the numbers weren’t very good.

* * *

 

They transferred Peter to a different room. There were windows and May kept the blinds open all the time. Because Peter might wake up and she was sure he would want to see the world outside. There was more room to fit all the machines he was hooked up to, but also to bring in more chairs. Even though May was still the only person allowed in, aside from Dr. Wu and the nurses. Once the pneumonia was gone, then they could come in.

But everyone had the same unspoken thought: what would his reaction when he saw them be?

May hardly left his side. She slept in that chair, holding his hand, brushing his hair, cleaning him up as best she could with all the wires.

Of course, someone would come alongside and make sure she took care of herself. Eating, showering, stepping outside for fresh air. But she was never away for more than ten minutes. It was a miracle he made it past that first twenty four hours. Now, she was going to stay in that room and wait for the next miracle of him opening his eyes.

And a week later his condition _had_ improved. The hypothermia was gone and left no lasting damage. He didn’t have any other seizures from the overdose. His wrist was showing improvement with the last scan.

But not once did he open his eyes.

May stood outside the hallway, stretching out her fingers and trying to resist pacing. Dr. Wu was in there taking Peter off the ventilator. His lungs were strong enough to not need it anymore and his heart had continued to beat steadily this entire time.

Maybe this would wake him up.

She heard someone approaching and looked up. It was Tony. And she was a little surprised to see him. Happy told her he was holed up in his workshop again, trying to figure out that chip.

Just looking at him as he walked towards her though, she could see the guilt weighing his shoulders down. She didn't have the energy to try and convince him it wasn't his fault.

“I hear Dr. Wu is taking the ventilator out?” he asked, leaning against the wall close to May.

She nodded.

Silence followed.

And May could think of no words of comfort to offer because she had used them all up on herself.

She was sure Tony was thinking the same thing.

“Anything on the chip?” she asked instead.

His jaw muscle twitched and May already knew the answer.

“It’s, um…even Vision’s a little stumped. I don’t…we aren’t stopping because that’s the only real clue we have about that woman,”

“Isn’t Matt doing his own investigation?”

“Yes, but he’s a little preoccupied with getting some woman out of jail right now. He has enough evidence for that, but what he does have isn’t helping with our search,”

And even though Tony sounded annoyed, May was grateful for Matt’s work. It was because of him May wasn’t in police custody for the attempted murder of Peter.

May closed her eyes and took a deep breath at the surge of anger that bubbled up. There would be a time for those feelings, but right now, she just wanted to focus on Peter.

The door opened again and Dr. Wu gave the all clear sign. Peter was off the ventilator and stable. He was improving.

He just needed to wake up.

May looked over at Tony. “Do you want to sit for a while?”

Tony looked in the room hesitantly. “I don’t think-“

“Tony, come sit for a while,” May rephrased it to a command.

And Tony was too tired to argue. He walked in, pausing to look at Peter.

His hair was short again, styled the way he always had it, thanks to May. It was still black, but there was nothing they could do about that right now. There was less wires and tubes around him now, but underneath those blankets, Tony knew he was still too thin.

His chest continued rising and falling on its own and not once did the heart monitor falter in its beating.

May took the seat right by his bed. Seeing his face clear of the tubing with only the nose cannula, her hands moved to cup his face. A shaky breath escaped her lips. “Hey honey, it’s time to wake up now. Think you can do that? Wake up for your Aunt May?” she whispered.

Tony held his breath and waited. Surely, if anything could wake up Peter, it would be that. A comforting touch.

Nothing happened.

Tony considered leaving. Yes, May told him to sit, but he didn’t have to. He could leave. He didn’t have to see Peter like this. In his mind, he could keep the memory of a laughing Peter until this Peter was laughing again.

But from what Dr. Wu told him, May had spent her entire time here with him. Almost always alone.

He grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it to the furthest corner of the room. He could stay for a little bit.

* * *

 

His eyelids began fluttering open, but the light that meet him made his shut his eyes tightly. Why was it so bright? What happened? Could he ask Ben to turn them off?

As he gathered his words to say something, he noticed something. His lungs weren’t hurting. At least not as much as they had been. He took a deep breath. There was still a rattling sound, but it didn’t make him want to cough up his lungs.

He tried opening his eyes again, going slowly to adjust to the brightness. But he finally did it.

And he could see outside.

The sky was blue. Had it always been that blue? He couldn’t remember the last time he properly saw the sky. And sunlight was streaming in. So much sunlight and it was making the whole room warm and he just wanted to forever lay in the sunbeams.

But his wrist throbbed and he shut his eyes. He remembered what happened last time he took in the sun rays. It was his fault. He should’ve known better. He should’ve never done something like that.

He opened his eyes again, this time to take in his surroundings. And the first thing he took in was May, her eyes closed and head resting on his bed. Inches away from his hand.

The sunlight bounced off of her in a way that made it look like she was an angel. It was the only explanation he could come up with. Of course she was an angel. She was dead and moved on to the afterlife and after everything she had gone through, the loss, the pain, the betrayal…becoming an angel was the least she deserved.

He wondered what it meant that he could see her though. Was it a trick? Or was he dead too?

Or maybe this was a test from Yvonne?

He stretched out his hand. Maybe if he touched her, he would know what this was. He would only gently touch her. He had control. He wouldn’t hurt her.

But he stopped when he heard someone clearing their throat in the back of the room. He hadn’t taken notice before, but he could see someone sitting there. It was dark there and he couldn’t make them out and-

“Peter?”

Oh _God_. It was Tony Stark.

Tony got up and was walking towards him. He blinked, hoping this was just a dream. That Tony would disappear.

And in turn May would disappear too.

But Tony kept moving closer. And his face was…worried? He didn’t have that sneer or the hate in his eyes. Then his lips turned upward. He was smiling. “You’re awake,”

May began stirring. She lifted her head and looked right at him. Not at Tony. No, all her attention was on him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Tony. Watching, waiting for him to lung forward, to choke him, stab him, somehow kill him.

“Oh my God, Peter!” May exclaimed.

And before he could fully process it, her arms were around him. Her so very real arms. But Peter didn’t move. This had to be a trick. Was Yvonne trying to teach him something? Or maybe it was Tony’s doing? Tony was watching him and he looked…pained?

There was a beeping in the room. Why was there always a beeping now? It wouldn’t stop and it was only getting faster and louder

May pulled back and cupped his face. “Peter, baby, look at me. You’re okay. I know this is a lot, but you are okay. You’re safe,”

He looked away from Tony to May, who was holding his face, smiling at him, tears building up in her eyes.

And it all felt so real.

“I’ll get Dr. Wu,” Tony said, walking out of the room.

Now his attention was focused completely on May. She was crying now and he felt panic bubbling up. Did he hurt her? Why was she crying?

“I…” He tried pushing words out, but his mouth felt so dry. And now his throat itched and he had to cough, but he couldn’t because he wasn’t sick. Yvonne had told him he wasn’t sick, so he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t-

“Don’t hold them back. Let them out, Peter. You’ll feel a lot better when you do. Just cough,”

Another man was in the room. When did he come in? Could he see May too?

But once he was given permission, the coughs spilled out of him and he didn’t think he could stop.

The coughs finally stopped and his chest hurt, but never like it used to. He felt so tired. He wanted to go back to sleep. If he went back to sleep, then things would go back to normal and he wouldn’t have to think so hard and he wouldn’t see May anymore or Tony’s smiling face. It was all just part of a weird dream and he was going to wake up.

“Yvonne?” he asked, feeling his eyes beginning to slip close.

“She’s not here. You’re safe, Peter. She isn’t going to hurt you again,”

At May’s words, his eyes opened wide. Yvonne wasn’t coming back? But she was supposed to protect him. She said she would protect him. Tony was here! He was here and who knows what he would do to him!

Even though he saw him smiling and look worried and he couldn’t find any hate in his expression.

No, he needed someone here who would protect him. Who wouldn’t hurt him, tell him it was all right, help him control himself, remind him that May wasn’t really here.

“Matt…” he finally managed to say. “I…wh-where’s…Matt?” Because he did remember seeing Matt. At Yvonn'es house. Matt knew what was going on. He would explain everything to him.

May was talking again. And then the new man too and it was becoming too much for him. His eyes closed again and he prayed he would wake up in his room again. The little room with the small bed and the window he couldn’t touch and Yvonne would be there and everything would be the way it’s supposed to.

* * *

_"Tony Stark. Tony Stark. Tony Stark Ton-"_

Matt jumped at the ringtone, fumbling around for his phone. He cleared his throat, hoping it didn't sound like he just woke up. "Any update on Peter?"

_"Uh, yeah. Kid just woke up. And from the sound of it, so did you,"_

Matt ignored the jab. With the new evidence, he had been working nonstop on getting Leslie out of prison. Meaning sleep was a luxury he couldn't afford, but he still ended up falling asleep. More often than not in a pile of paperwork and notes. "How was he?"

Tony let out a heavy sigh and Matt knew it wasn't good. _"Confused. He's um...he was only awake for a few minutes, but he was looking at May like she was going to disappear any moment and at me like I was going to kill him,"_ He cleared his throat. _"He asked for you though. I don't...it would be good for him if you were there next time he wakes up,"_

Matt could hear a trace of bitterness in Tony's voice. He understood though. Matt knew Peter for one month before he was taken. Tony knew him for nearly two years now. "I'll be there as soon as I can," he answered, already gathering up the files and paperwork scattered on his kitchen counter.

_"Great. I've already sent a car for you. It'll be there in ten minutes tops,"_


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the delay with this chapter!! I had to unexpectedly move because of mold issues and then a huge work event and rl just getting super busy all of a sudden. But I have an update and am already working on the next chapter too! So enjoy this one and leave a comment with your thoughts because I love reading every single one of them :)

Natasha stood up when she saw Matt come inside the building. “Mr. Murdock, a pleasure to see you again,

Matt smiled in her direction, taking off his scarf and undoing his coat buttons. “At least it’s under slightly better circumstances this time,

Natasha offered her arm and Matt took it, allowing her to lead him up to Peter’s room.

“How is he?” Matt asked once they got into an elevator. “Mr. Stark didn’t really give me too much information except that he’s awake,”  
  
“His body is recovering. He was in a coma for about a week, so we haven’t been able to judge the mental damage that was done. Judging by his response when he woke up though, he’s got a long road to recovery ahead of him,"

“And his aunt?”

Natasha gave a wry smile. “I’m glad you brought that up actually. She’s barely left his side this entire time. She needs to get out of there for some actual rest,”

“So you want me to convince her to do just that," Matt said, reading between the lines. "What makes you think I can do that?”

“Because you’re a damn good lawyer,”

Matt didn't argue.

The elevator dinged and Natasha led him down the hall. “Here we are. He’s asleep right now, so you shouldn’t have as hard a time getting May out,”

Matt hid a grimace. “If that’s what you really think,” he said before going inside.

Natasha watched from the window on the door. May was obviously surprised to see him, but it changed into confusion as he explained the situation. They continued talking and Natasha hoped Matt wouldn’t back out of the assignment she gave him.

Someone approached and stood next to her. Natasha recognized the footsteps as Steve’s. “So the lawyer’s here,”

Natasha crossed her arms. Steve only stated the obvious when he was trying to figure out how to approach a difficult subject. “Yes, but that’s not why you came up here,”

“We have to tell them about the video we found,” he said after a few beats.

“I know,” Natasha continued watching them. From the look on May’s face, Matt had already brought up the subject of her resting. “They don’t need to see it though,”

Steve shook his head. “God, no. But in order to really help Peter, they need to know about it,”

Matt continued his argument and it looked like he was wearing May down.

“Once she gets some actual rest, then we’ll tell her and Tony,” Steve said.

“And the others?”

“Dr. Wu obviously. But I think we should let May decide who else gets to know about it,”

The door opened and May came out. She offered a weak smile to Steve and Natasha. “Um…is there…” She took a deep breath, looking back through the window to see Peter.

“Pepper made arrangements for there to be a room for you in the medbay area when they brought Peter in. It’s just down the hall,” Natasha said with an encouraging smile.

May released the breath she was holding. “And if something happens-“

“You’ll be the first to know. But I think it’s time you got some actual rest,” Natasha put a hand on May’s shoulder and began guiding her to the room they had set up.

Steve looked back into Peter’s room once they turned the corner. No movement from Peter and Matt was pulling out case files to work on. So he was a good lawyer. Maybe he could convince Tony to get some sleep too.

* * *

 

It wasn’t hard for him to open his eyes the next time he woke up. The sun wasn’t shining anymore, but only because it was nighttime already. The moon was out. And he could actually see it.

He wasn’t sure of the last time the moon looked so bright.

“Peter? You awake?”

He jumped at the sound. He thought he was alone. It was so dark, who else would be in here? The beeping picked up. He wanted it to stop.

A light turned on. “Hey, it’s all right. Take a deep breath,”

The light was too bright. He had to squint while waiting for his eyes to adjust. But he recognized him. “M-Matt?”

Matt smiled, moving to sit on the end of his bed. “Hey Peter,”

Matt was here. He asked for Matt and he came. Did that mean he could ask for Yvonne and she would come? “Yvo-onne. Wh-where is-“

“Here’s some water. It’ll help your throat,”

He took the offered cup of water and drank a big gulp.

Then he coughed it all up and couldn’t stop coughing.

But he had to stop! He couldn’t cough! He wasn’t sick and-

“It’s all right. Just take it slow. Let it out,”

Matt was rubbing his back. And he was letting him cough.

It felt like forever, but he finally got his breath back. Matt held the cup this time and eased the water into him a little bit at a time.

And once it was empty, Matt took it away. He wanted to ask for more, but knew he wasn’t allowed. He was only ever given exactly what he needed. So that was all the water he needed and he would not ask for more.

Matt stayed by his side. His mouth was moving, but Peter didn’t hear him. He just kept staring at him, wondering if he really was here.

Wherever here was.

“-er? Did you hear me?”

He finally snapped out of it. Matt asked him a question. He asked him something and he didn’t know what it was.

“I…I-“ The beeping was picking up again. It was echoing in his ears and it was so loud. Or was that his heart? Because he was sure his heart was going to explode from his chest.

“Peter, it’s all right. I want you to breath with me, okay? In…out. In…out,”

He focused on Matt’s breathing. And somehow matched it up to his own. In…out. In…out.

Matt smiled. “Better?”

“A-are you…here?” It hurt to talk. But he had to ask. Because last time he woke up, May was there with Tony. And the time before that, it was May and Ben.

Matt kept smiling. “Yeah. I’m right here,”

“B-bu…Yvon…Yvonne? She said-“

“She’s gone, Peter. You’re safe now,”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. No. No, she couldn’t be gone. How could he be safe if she was gone? Sure, Matt could protect him, but it would only be for a little bit and then he would find out what he did and then he wouldn’t-

All of his thoughts stopped. His entire body went rigid. A pair of arms was wrapped around him.

Matt was hugging him. He was giving him a _hug_.

And somehow, his arms ended up wrapping around Matt too. And his face was wet and his shoulders were shaking. The words that built up over so many months, finally came out.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I do-don’t…It w-as an…acc-dent. I pr-mise!”

“No, Peter, you have nothing to apologize for. None of this was your fault,” Matt said, beginning to gently rock him.

But he didn’t understand. He had to make him understand. “I los…no, _Peter_ lo-lost control. _He_ did it,”

Matt pulled away, opting to hold onto his shoulders. “Come on, deep breaths. I know things are confusing right now Peter, but-“

“I’m not Peter,” he whispered. “I’m not. I’m not him. I’m _Richard_ ,”

Matt was silent, dropping his hands from his shoulders and leaning back some. “Did Yvonne say you were Richard?” he asked after a few moments.

He nodded. And it seemed like someone else finally understood.

“Can I ask why you're Richard now?”

He didn’t mean to, but he shrunk away from Matt. He didn’t know what happened. He didn’t know what h-Peter had done. But he was a lawyer and he was here and being nice. That had to count for something. Right?

“I… _Peter_ lost control…” he finally spoke, barely above a whisper, but he knew Matt could hear just fine. “He…Aunt May…” he shut his eyes. Her gasp coming to mind. But then he remembered her arms around him in a hug the last time he was awake and _was that even real_? “He killed May,”

Matt let out a deep breath. “What if I were to tell you that that wasn’t true? That May Parker is alive and she’s really worried about her nephew. She wants him to know that she loves him and would like to have him back,”

He closed his eyes. Yvonne told him what he had done. The blood on his hands, the video with the proof, the gasp he would never be able to get out of his head. “I want Yvonne. I want to go back with her,”

“I understand things are little confusing right now, but you have to trust me when I say you are in a much better place right now. You have people here that care about you and are waiting for you to get better,”

Who else could possibly care about him though? The world wanted him dead and they were willing to let Tony and the Avengers take care of that.

But Matt was different. Yvonne never said anything about him. And he said that he would always have his back. No, he told Peter that. He was Richard, but that still counted for him too…right?

He found it hard to open his eyes again. All this talking wore him out. He couldn’t remember the last time he talked this much.

“Don’t leave,” he managed to mumble out.

He wasn’t sure if Matt responded back. But he knew he didn’t leave. Because he grabbed onto Matt’s hand and Matt didn’t let go.

* * *

 

May couldn’t remember the last time she slept through an entire night. And to be honest, she wasn’t sure if she did sleep through a whole night. But the sun was peeking through the closed curtains and she was sure when she did crawl into bed, the sun was out too.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Parker. Did you enjoy your rest?”

May still felt too tired to be startled by the AI. After Natasha showed her the room, she took a quick shower and collapsed into the bed right after. Apparently, she fell asleep right away, though it only felt like she just blinked.

“Is Peter awake?” she asked instead, reaching for her glasses and blinking the world into focus.

“No, but he did wake up at two seventeen a.m.. Mr. Murdock was with him and able to calm him down,”

May sat up in the bed and rubbed a hand over her face. “How long was I asleep?”

“Fifteen hours and twenty-nine minutes,”

She stood up and slipped on her shoes. “I have to go. I have to see Peter,”

“Actually, you have been requested to go down to Boss’ workshop,”

May paused. “Why?”

“I was not-“

“Is it about Peter? Did they find that woman?”

“I’m sorry Mrs. Parker, but they gave me no information. Just that you needed to go to the workshop as soon as you woke up,”

“All right, fine,”

“Go straight down the hallway until you reach the elevator. I’ll send you to the appropriate floor,”

She followed Friday’s instructions, despite wanting to at least walk past Peter’s room. But he was asleep and Matt was in there. It was just a few more minutes before she could go in and see him.

The elevator took her directly into Tony’s workshop.

Tony was there, sitting at the table with a disassembled chip in front of him and a cup of coffee in hand. It didn’t seem unusual, but Natasha and Steve were also there. Which didn’t sit well with May.

“What is it? Please tell me you found her and she’s in custody,” May said, carefully approaching the table.

“No, the police are still out looking. But these two say they’ve got something to share,” Tony said with a pointed look directed at them.

Neither faltered under the look. “Yvonne was manipulating Peter, making him believe and see things that weren’t true. I’m sure that chip had something to do with it,” Steve spoke first. He took a deep breath before continuing. “She made him believe you’re dead, Mrs. Parker, and that he was the one to kill you,”

May blinked. “What? That doesn’t make any sense. How could he believe something like that?”

“There was a video. A doctored video of course, but if I didn’t know the situation, I would’ve believed the same thing,” Natasha replied.

“No. Peter would never believe something like that,” May continued insisting. “He’s strong and-“

“He was alone for four months, May,” Tony interrupted. “No one came for him for _four_ months. Who knows what kind of hell that psycho put him through. And you said it yourself, Peter didn’t make it out of that house. What we have now is just…some shell,”

Natasha and Steve made no move as the fury boiled in May’s eyes. She did her best to keep her emotions controlled as she spoke again. “But we’re going to get him back. We can-“

“We can _what_ , May!?” Tony yelled. “He thinks you’re dead, he’s terrified of me and everyone that isn’t that blind lawyer, and you what the best part is?! His mind has been twisted so much, he _wants_ to go back with her!”

Tony’s rant was cut off when May marched up to him and slapped him.

“Go to hell,” she growled, before turning around and stepping into the elevator to leave the workshop.

Natasha hurried after her, leaving Steve and Tony behind.

“What the hell was that?” Steve asked once they were gone.

Tony ignored him, opting to focus on his work again.

Steve moved closer, refusing to be ignored. “Tony, you need to-“

Tony slammed his hand on the table. Steve didn’t flinch. “No, you do not get to tell me what you think I need to do. I know damn well what I need to do,”

“Then what is it?” Steve asked, crossing his arms. “What do you think you need to do?”

Tony let out a deep breath. “It’s been more than week and we have no idea how to find her. And maybe Peter knows something that can help us, but do you think he’s going to talk to any of us about it? No. She’s gone and she took the real Peter with her,”

Steve didn’t respond. Tony was tempted to look up to see if he was even still there. But he kept his eyes on the disassembled chip in front of him that held no answers.

Steve finally spoke again. “Bucky came back,”

Tony clenched his fist. Barnes was the last person he wanted to think of right now.  _Especially_ by Steve bringing him up.

“I’m not trying to diminish anything Peter went through, but Bucky went through _decades_ of people twisting his mind and making him believe lies. And he still came back,” he paused, as if waiting for another scathing remark from Tony. There was none. “You aren’t giving Peter the credit he deserves if you really think he won’t make it through this,”

Tony only looked up when he heard the receding footsteps. He sagged in his chair when Steve left in the elevator.

“Friday, where’s May?”

“Upstairs,”

Tony rolled his eyes at the short answer. Even his AI was pissed. “Where upstairs?”

“In Peter’s room,”

Tony fiddled with a wire. He knew he needed to apologize. But he couldn’t bring himself to go up to Peter’s room. Not after seeing the look on his face when he saw Tony.

He looked down at the chip again. Not even Vision could understand how this thing worked. And with the information Natasha and Steve brought about the video, Tony knew they weren’t dealing with just some computer proficient. This woman was something much more.

But Tony was sure Peter wasn’t going to be her last victim. And that’s where they would catch her.

Tony began clearing off the table and putting away his tools. “Friday, start keeping tabs on all missing persons reports. Specifically teenage boys who may or may not have a mutation,”

Friday gave a confirmation of the order just as Tony left the workshop for his suite.

* * *

 

Natasha was following her, but May didn’t stop. She didn’t want to talk to any of them. She just needed to see Peter. See his eyes, see him awake, see him breathing. That’s all she wanted at the moment.

“May,” Natasha called out.

She stopped and turned around. “Are you going to apologize for him? Because that is the last thing I want to hear,”

Natasha said nothing, keeping her face blank and May was jealous of that ability. “No, I wasn’t going to apologize for him. Tony’s an asshole and doesn’t do well with things not going his way,”

May scoffed. “Yeah? Well, things haven’t exactly been going my way for a while either, but I don't lash out like that,”

“We really are doing everything we can to find her and make sure she pays for what she’s done,”

May nodded. “I know. I know everyone on the team and the police and especially Tony are doing whatever it takes. But I just…” she closed her eyes for a moment. “I just need to see Peter right now,”

Natasha took a step back, allowing May to continue on her own.

When she got to his room, she could see through the window on the door that he was awake. Matt was sitting next to him and talking. It seemed like a one-sided conversation, but his eyes stayed open.

Matt paused for a moment, tilted his head slightly, before talking again. He stopped and May noticed Peter’s heart monitor pick up in pace. But Matt spoke again and she could see Peter take several intentionally deep breaths. Then Peter nodded and Matt gave him a smile.

May took a step back as she saw Matt get up to open the door. And for a moment, she felt as if she was intruding. But Matt smiled at her and she pushed that thought down. “Hello Mrs. Parker. Did you get you some rest?”

May nodded. “How long has he been awake?” she asked softly, glancing into the room to see Peter’s eyes darting around the room, but seeming to purposely avoid the open door.

“Not that long. I was just telling him about some of the cases I’ve been working on lately. Do you want to come in?”

And there was that feeling of intruding again. “Is…is it all right if I do?”

“Of course, right kid? Besides, I kind of need to make a couple of calls. Your aunt can keep you company while I’m gone,” Matt said, turning to face Peter.

At that, Peter snapped his head up with wide eyes. “How long?” he asked.

“Not too long. But it’ll give you some time alone with your aunt. In this safe place, okay?”

Peter looked away again, but gave a subtle nod.

Matt gave May his best smile, before stepping out to allow May to come in. She hesitated for half a second before taking the chair by his bed.

“How are you feeling, honey?” she asked after it was made clear Peter would not be the one initiating the conversation.

Peter shrugged, still not looking at May.

She held back a frustrated sigh. “Does your chest hurt? Dr. Wu was pretty concerned for a while, but your body’s healing like it should be now,”

Another silent shrug.

May couldn’t take it anymore. She leaned forward and grabbed Peter’s hand, ignoring the way he flinched. “Peter, baby, I need you to look at me. Please just look at me,”

He shut his eyes tightly instead.

“I’m right here. Do you feel my hand? Do you feel how real it is?”

She could feel his fingers twitching, as if he wanted to hold her hand, but was willing himself not to.

“Peter, you could never hurt me. Because I love you. And you love me,”

Finally, he opened his eyes.

“U-uncle Ben sa-said…you needed m…Peter,” he said, his eyes fliting between May and the blankets.

May swallowed hard, taking note of two things. One, Peter had almost died. If he was seeing Ben, that’s the only explanation May could come up with. Two, he was referring to himself in the third person.

A long road of therapy was waiting for them.

But she focused on the thing she could address. “Ben’s right,” she said with a watery smile. “I barely lasted those four months, I don’t think I could do much more without my Peter,”

Peter looked at her for a few moments longer this time. And as he did, he moved his hand to gently entwine his fingers with hers.

But he yawned and within seconds, his eyes were slipping closed and his heart rate slowed to its resting rate.

And May didn’t move. She kept her hand in his and let out a shaky breath. For the first time since this whole ordeal, May could say with confidence she saw a glimpse of her Peter just before he fell back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I got Tony's characterization right in this one!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an interesting one to write and I hope you find it an interesting chapter! As always, thank so much for the comments!! I love and appreciate each and every single one of them :) so leave a comment for this one? Because that would be awesome...!

Matt felt bad as his phone blaring _Foggy_ seemed to wake up Peter. Especially since he woke up just as confused as before. Matt wondered if it could possibly be from the medication or from the pneumonia or if this was just a long-term issue they would always deal with.

He switched his phone to vibrate as he worked on calming Peter down.

Peter calmed down faster this time. It helped that Matt began talking about his current case files before Peter could ask about Yvonne again. He just needed to continue ignoring his vibrating phone and hope Peter didn't hear it.

Then May came in and he could hear the spike of Peter’s heart before the heart monitor could register it.

But Peter's breathing went back to its normal rate. There was a subtle increase when May went in and Matt waited outside the closed door, just in case the visit was too much for Peter. But after a few moments, Peter's heart slowed down to a resting rate and Matt knew he was asleep.

Confident nothing would happen while he was the phone, Matt walked down the hall and turned the corner. His phone was vibrating for the fifth time by the time Matt answered it. “Yes, Foggy?”

_“Matt! Why did you take forever to answer?! Are you still at the compound?”_

“Yeah, I’m still here and I might still be for a little while,” he responded, choosing to answer only one question. "What's up?"

_“I just heard from the judge over Leslie’s case. He’s agreeing to release her,”_

“Which is great news, but that doesn’t explain why there’s hesitation in your voice,”

Foggy sighed. _“He has one condition_ ,” A pause and Matt waited, knowing Foggy was just trying to stall. _“He wants a statement from Peter. Says he wants a confirmation of the evidence from someone who's actually interacted with Yvonne,"_

Matt pushed his glasses up to rub a hand down his face. “Christ, are you serious?”

_“Yeah, I’ve been trying to get out of it, but he’s insisting. And honestly, I’m sure the police are waiting to get a statement from him too anyways,”_

“Yeah, but he’s in no position to be giving out statements right now,”

_“Isn’t he awake?”_

“Yes, but…Foggy, this lady screwed up his mind. Made him believe lies and…he hasn’t been awake long enough for an evaluation, but he’s definitely got Stockholm,”

Foggy swore _. “And I’m sure she did the same thing to Jacob. But you know what this means, right?”_

Matt grimaced. Of course he knew. “I’ll talk with Stark and his aunt. See if he can be evaluated today,”

_“All right. Keep me updated. And Matt?”_

“Yes?”

_“I’m…I don’t know how you even know this kid or what exactly makes him so special the entire Avengers were out looking for him, but…I’m sorry. From the little I’ve heard, it seems like he’s a strong kid and whatever the diagnosis, he’ll come out on the other side even stronger,”_

He smiled at Foggy’s encouraging words. But he was sure May and even Tony would be better off hearing it instead. “Thanks Fog. I’ll talk to you later,”

Matt let out a deep breath as he pocketed his phone. He walked back into the room and cleared his throat. “Mrs. Parker? Can I talk with you for a moment?”

The reluctance was radiating off of her. And he could hear the bones in her fingers moving and knew she was holding Peter’s hand. More importantly, Peter was holding her hand while he slept. Her reluctance to move was understandable. “What is it?” she asked in a tone that said she was ready to hear the worst.

Matt took a seat. “A judge is requesting a statement from Peter and I’m sure the detective over his case is waiting for one too,”

May muffled a groan. “Can’t they wait?”

“No, they really can’t,” he didn’t mention anything about Leslie. He was sure hearing of her situation would bring survivor’s guilt to May. “There is a way we can get around it though,”

And May perked her head up.

“He needs to receive a psych evaluation that will say he is mentally incapacitated to make a statement for the police or to a judge. And I'm sure you know this, but he’s going to need to continue working with the psychologist too,”

She pursed her lips. “I know. God, I know you’re right, but…he needs a… _special_ one that will understand him,” May sighed. “There’s some things that he…I need to be able to trust this person completely,”

Matt understood her hesitancy. But he needed her to understand she had options. “Of course, which is why I recommend we talk with Mr. Stark. I’m sure he would have recommendations of someone to deal with Peter’s uniqueness,”

May shifted and he could hear her muscles tensing. “Mr. Murdock, how exactly do you know Peter?”

And there was the question he had expected her to ask as soon as he met her as Matt Murdock. “I ran into him while interviewing some people for a case,” It wasn’t a complete lie.

Matt wasn’t sure which form of exhaustion made her stop probing. Mental, physical, or emotional. Maybe it was all three. But her muscles relaxed and she took a deep breath. “All right,” she whispered after a moment. “Go ahead and ask Tony about finding a psychologist,”

* * *

 

Matt explained the situation to him. Peter needed to talk to a licensed professional.

Of course he needed to. And as soon as Matt told him May gave the go ahead, Tony had Friday contact the only doctor he trusted in this area. Dr. Winslow, his own personal psychologist, even if Tony only had one session with her. The doctor agreed and would arrive tomorrow. They just had to wait for Peter to stay awake long enough though.

It wasn’t enough for Tony though to have Peter go through this evaluation and therapy. It was a push in the right direction, but there was more that could be done.

Tony looked down at his phone, his thumb still hovering over the contact info for Wanda.

If he did this, would it be considered more of a shove? But more importantly, was Peter ready for something like this?

He closed his eyes and could see Peter’s face full of fear again. Fear of him. Even after they pulled out that chip that had to be messing with his head.

His thumb either slipped or purposefully jabbed the phone screen. Tony wasn’t sure which. But the phone was ringing and Tony pressed it to his ear.

 _“Tony? Is everything all right?”_ Wanda asked, answering on the second ring.

Tony held back an exhausted laugh. Of course everything was not all right. “Where are you?”

_“Koreatown. We had to stop for a moment to grab something to eat,”_

He assumed the ‘we’ was her and Vision. “I need you here at the compound. I have something different I need you to do,”

He could hear Vision in the background asking for to-go boxes. _“What is it?”_ The apprehension in her voice was clear.

“You’re going to pull Peter out of his head,”

Wanda blew out some air. _“Tony…I don’t think he’s ready for something like that. Who’s idea is this anyways?”_

“Mine,” Tony said, not giving himself the chance to think about denying it.

Wanda mumbled something in Ukrainian. And Vision asked in the background if she was all right. _“Have you spoken to him or his aunt about this?”_

“No, but this is exactly why you need to do this. I can’t even be in the same room with him without him going into a panic attack. At least do a little probing while he’s asleep and who knows, maybe you’ll find out how we can bring Blakewell in,”

_“And if he wakes up while I’m just doing the probing?”_

“We sedate him then,”

Wanda didn’t say anything and he was sure she was having a silent conversation with Vision about this. _“Fine. I’ll be there in an hour. But I will only do it if his aunt agrees,”_

Her response was good enough for Tony. He hung up, knowing that before he could even present this idea to May, he would need to apologize.

* * *

 

Tony waited until Wanda was five minutes out to go talk to May. Partly because he was stalling, but also because he knew he needed to get this apology right if he wanted May to agree with his plan. He considered calling Pepper and asking for help.

But then remembered she would not condone this at all and would probably make him go to bed or something. He messaged Rhodey instead who actually told him the same thing he assumed Pepper would've told him. Tony put all incoming calls and messages from Rhodey on mute while he figured out this apology on his own.

With five minutes before Wanda came in, Tony went down to Peter's room. He didn’t bother going inside, choosing to ask Friday to send her out for him.

Wanda was pulling into the garage by the time she stepped out. “Yes Tony?”

“I’m sorry,” Tony started. “That was rude and not beneficial to the situation in any way and I am sorry,” Simple and straight to the point.

May crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “What do you want, Tony?”

Of course she would see through it, despite the fact that this really was a sincere apology from Tony. “I’m tired. Sleep hasn’t exactly been coming easy these last few months and I’m sure you understand that. And when I’m tired, I blurt things out without thinking, at least more so than usual,” He looked down at the floor to gather his words. He needed to get this right if May was going to agree. “Peter is in there. He’s just…stuck and he needs some help coming back to us,”

“If you’re talking about the psychologist, I know. I thought you had already called for one to come see him?”

“Well, yeah, there’s the psychologist and Dr. Winslow is going to get us the evaluation we need, but I’m talking about something a little more,” he took a deep breath, “I'm talking about having Wanda help him out. She’ll do some probing at first, see what he’s thinking and then she’ll work with Dr. Winslow during his therapy,”

May frowned. “Is that even…safe? What if he wakes up and she’s in his head and-“

“Dr. Wu can have him sedated. He won’t wake up,”

May began chewing lightly on her thumbnail in thought.

And as she considered the options and thought of the positive and negative outcomes, Wanda came walking down the hallway.

“Tony, Mrs. Parker. Everything ready?”

May looked from Wanda to Tony. “Wait, you already told her to come do this?”

Wanda narrowed her eyes. “Tony, I said I would do anything without his aunt’s permission,”

“Which is exactly what I’m working on. May, what do you say?”

May let out heavy sigh. She shook her head as she thought. “I don’t know…will this hurt him or put him in any kind of distress?” she asked, directing her question to Wanda.

“Not the probing if he’s sedated. And we can discuss how everything else will affect him once I see the damage,”

May tried not to wince at the word ‘damage.’ “All right, fine. But I’m only agreeing to the probing right now. Then we’ll talk,” May walked back into the room, ending the conversation.

* * *

 

Dr. Wu sedated Peter while he was still asleep. He gave them two hours before Peter would start waking up on his own.

Wanda said that was more than enough time.

Matt left the room for the common area, mumbling something about cases. Tony stayed outside in the hallway, leaving May and Wanda in the room with Peter.

Wanda sat down at Peter's bedside. The side with his broken arm so May could sit on the other side and hold his hand. "Don't worry, Mrs. Parker. It won't take long and hopefully we'll have more answers,"

May just nodded, resting her hand on top of Peter's.

Wanda closed her eyes as she opened her hand, her fingertips twitching as red tendrils left them and connected with Peter's head.

_Doves were everywhere. Flying and fluttering and their feathers falling, falling, falling…_

_Wanda was in the room Peter had been held in. But then it changed to his room at May's apartment. Then back to his prison. Back and forth it continued changing, sometimes in a blink and other times a slow fade._

_The constant were the doves though. Flying inside, circling and diving, but never landing. They weren’t making the normal cooing sound. Sharp, human gasps were coming from then instead. Echoing at varying volumes._

_“Peter, you’re…you’re scaring me,”_

_“Oh my little dove…when will you stop acting like Peter, Richard?”_

_“Tony Stark has stated that Peter Parker is extremely dangerous. Dangerous. Dangerous. Dangerous,”_

_“You are not Peter!”_

_The voices continued mingling, growing louder and louder until it was almost unbearable, then turning into whispers with the process starting over and over again. Wanda could only make out May's voice though. She had no idea who the others belonged to._

_A man was standing in the back corner of the room, fading in and out with a devil’s mask and angel wings spreading open from his back. Feathers were falling from his wings and mixing with the dove's feathers._

_Hiding behind the wings was another man. Or maybe he wasn’t hiding, but being held back by the wings._

_It was Tony. Smiling and happy then quickly distorting into a sneer. But then the smile was back and he was laughing, then sneering again and yelling, and always changing from those two expressions._

_Wanda walked towards them, a light over them growing brighter and brighter. Once close enough for the rays of light to touch her, a sharp pain shot through her wrist. Wanda jumped back, away from the light._

_One of the doves finally landed. Blood was coating its wings. But they weren’t wings anymore. They were hands and the dove was changing and it was Peter, standing up. Blood on his hands and his white shirt splattered with blood. The blood was dripping from his hands, onto the carpet of his room then the old hardwood of the prison. And he couldn't take his eyes off of his hands._

_With his hands covered with blood, he began pulling at his hair. “I’m Richard. I’m Richard. I’m Richard. I’mrichardi'mrichardi'mrichardi'mrichard,”_

_His hands dropped to his side, as if weighing him down as he fell to his knees._

_The room changed into a black void. Spiderman was standing in front of Peter now. Peter looked up at him, then fell back, crawling backwards away from Spiderman, slipping every so often from the blood still on his hands. “No, please, you have to die. You_ have _to die. You’re dangerous. You’re the dangerous one and it’s all your fault!”_

_Spiderman moved to crouch in front of Peter, causing him to freeze in his backward crawl. "Please," Peter whimpered. "She was all I had left,"_

_Spiderman tilted his head. The blood from Peter’s hands continued dripping. But now there was blood on Spiderman’s hands. And he said nothing as he looked in mild interest._

_“Are you coming back to where it’s safe, my little dove? Where it’s safe? Safe?”_

_“Peter, you’re…you’re scaring me,”_

_“Hey Pete, when are you going home? When are you going home? When are you going home? When are you going home…”_

_Peter curled into a ball, shivering as he rocked. “…I want to go home…”_

* * *

It was completely involuntary. But once the red tendrils from Wanda’s fingertips disconnected from Peter’s mind, she jumped back with a gasp.

“Wanda? Oh my God, what happened? What did you see?” May asked, squeezing Peter's hand a little tighter.

Wanda closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m…I’m so sorry, May,”

May swallowed hard. “What did you see?” she insisted. “Did you see Peter in there? Is he…can he come back?”

Wanda took several deep breaths. There were so many voices, overlapping and shouting and whispering and...

No wonder Peter had no idea what was real anymore.

“He’s so scared,” Wanda whispered, looking at Peter who hadn’t moved since being sedated.

“But he's in there, right? He can make it back,”

“He’s trying,”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slightly longer chapter, but I honestly couldn't stop writing. Hope you enjoy and always leave your thoughts! I love reading them and it just always makes me happy to hear people are enjoying this :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly longer chapter, but I honestly couldn't stop writing. Hope you enjoy and always leave your thoughts! I love reading them and it just always makes me happy to hear people are enjoying this :)

His head felt weird. Fuzzy and…not right? He opened his eyes, blinking repeatedly to make his head not fuzzy.

“Peter? You awake?”

It was May. She was here. He blinked. She was still here.

And she was alone.

“Wh-where’s Matt?”

“He had to leave,”

May kept talking. He could see her mouth moving, but he couldn’t hear her anymore. He just kept repeating her first words in his head. Matt had to leave. Matt was gone. Matt wasn’t here. Who would protect him? Tony was here. Tony knew where he was. Tony knew and May wasn’t really here. This was a trick and he was asleep and it was time to wake up and why couldn’t he wake up?!

“Breathe, Peter. Take a deep breath,”

He had been so caught up in ignoring May, he didn’t hear the beeping of the heart monitor spike or the gasps escaping his mouth as he tried to pull in air.

Then May cupped his cheek. He flinched away from her, staring up at her watering eyes for just a moment before squeezing his own shut.

It sounded like she stifled a sob, but she still kept repeating. “Breathe, Peter. You’re safe. Breathe,”

He kept his eyes shut, trying to force air into his lungs, but he couldn’t. Why couldn’t he breathe? He wasn’t injured. Yvonne would be so disappointed in him. She wouldn’t like that he was causing a big fuss over nothing. She wouldn’t like that one bit and would take privileges away and-

“Peter Parker, open your eyes and look at me,”

May’s stern voice grabbed his attention and his eyes opened of their own volition.

“You are safe. You are here with me and you are safe. Breathe, honey. Breathe with me,”

May took a deep breath and he felt his chest rising. She exhaled and a deep breath left him too. In and out, following her example. And the world wasn’t spinning anymore and air was filling his lungs and he could _breathe_.

May smiled at him as the heart monitors calmed and his breathing evened. “Better?”

He swallowed hard, nodding and not taking his eyes off of her.

“Do you want some water?”

His water privilege wasn’t taken away. Did that mean she would take something else away? He nodded though before she could think of taking it away.

She gave him another smile, reaching for a cup on the nightstand and handing it to him.

He drank slowly, not wanting a repeat of what happened when Matt gave him water. The cup emptied faster than he hoped. He was still thirsty, but May didn’t offer him more water as she took the cup and set it back down.

That meant he didn’t need more water.

He looked around the room, outside the window, everywhere but at May. Matt had said she was real. That she was alive. But Matt wasn’t here anymore, so did that mean that was still true? He wanted to ask again, but was scared. Because what if when he asked, she disappeared?

There were more reasons why he shouldn’t ask if she was real, but he didn’t get the chance to think about them.

His stomach growled and it felt like the muscles were being pinched. He gasped, rolling over a little to try and curl into himself, to make the growling stop. He was so _hungry_. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate.

No. He did remember. He was with Yvonne and that’s when Matt and Foggy came to the house and-

“Honey, did you hear me?”

He looked up and saw May hovering over him. No, he didn’t hear her and she was going to have ask twice. He held his breath, waiting for a shock.

“I’m going to have one of the nurses bring in some food. You were mal…your stomach’s a lot smaller than it used to be, so we need to start you off with something easy. Do you want some chicken broth or jell-o?”

He took a breath. She was asking what he wanted? He swallowed hard. “Jell-o?” he whispered.

She smiled at him. “Friday? Can you get one of the nurses to bring in jell-o? And go ahead and let Dr. Wu know Peter’s awake,”

“Right away,”

He jumped a little at the voice coming from the ceiling. He had completely forgotten about Friday.

“Dr. Wu and the jell-o will coming in just a moment. And Peter, everyone is glad to have you back. Your vitals show that you are still healing and everyone is rooting for your full recovery,” Friday said.

Everyone was still calling him Peter. He tried to explain, at least to Matt, but now Friday was still calling him Peter. And Friday was an AI and never wrong.

Was he still Peter?

Besides, May was here. Matt said she was alive and she was in front of him right now. But he saw that video and the blood on his clothes and ha-

The door opened and Dr. Wu came in with a bowl of jell-o. “Peter, it’s good to see you awake,” he walked up to the bed, pulled out a table that was hanging from the side and set the jell-o down. “Let’s just get you sitting up so you can eat…” he pushed a button on the side of the bed and Peter felt the mattress moving to prop him up to a complete sitting position. “And I’ll just be checking some things and asking you a few questions while you eat. That okay?”

He nodded, grabbing the spoon and taking a small bite. He let out a small gasp at the taste. He didn't notice, but May smiled at his reaction.

He couldn’t remember jell-o ever tasting this good. It was sweet and definitely did not taste like an orange, but like sugar and yellow and red dye and sure, there had to be nutritional content in it because a doctor gave it to him and it came from Tony’s kitchen-

His spoon paused mid-air on his second bite. What if Tony was trying to poison him?

“Not too sure of the taste?” Dr. Wu asked, glancing at him from behind his clipboard as he messed with something on the IV.

He set the spoon down.

“Peter, you have to eat. This is good for you and you can only rely on nutrients from the IV for so long,” May said.

He swallowed hard. He wasn’t ready to die. He needed to see Yvonne first. He needed to go back to her where she would keep him safe. She gave him what he needed: broth and saltine crackers. The jell-o was a trick and he fell for it.

May kept talking. Encouraging him to eat the jell-o that it was good for him. Then she grabbed the spoon and took a bite of the jell-o.

“No!” he yelled, reaching forward to grab the spoon from her. But he was too late. She put the jell-o in her mouth and now her eyes were wide and that had to mean she could taste the poison. He still managed to grab the spoon with his good hand and with his casted hand, he swiped the bowl to the ground. “Spit it out! You have to spit it out!"

Dr. Wu was trying to push him back against the bed and telling him to relax and to take deep breaths.

“No, no, no, no! You weren’t supposed to eat it. It was for me and he did it! He ruined it and he’s trying to kill me because of what I did and I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry-“

“Peter, baby, what are you talking about?” May asked, grabbing his hand.

He pulled his hand away and shut his eyes. “Tony…he, he…it’s _poisoned_. The jell-o,”

“Peter, nothing is wrong with the jell-o,” Dr. Wu said softly. “I would never bring you something that would harm you and there’s no way Tony would ever try poisoning you,”

He opened his eyes, looking at May and waiting for her face to contort with pain or to simply stop breathing and collapse.

But she didn’t.

“The jell-o is fine. Tony would never do anything to it. He would never try and kill you,” May said softly, holding his gaze.

He took several deep breaths. “But I…” he shook his head. No, this was all wrong. Yvonne told him why Tony wanted to kill him. Yvonne would never lie. She never lied about anything. She only wanted to protect him.

“Why would Tony want to kill you if I’m still alive? Doesn’t that mean you didn’t hurt me?” May pressed. “Think, Peter. You have to really think about this,”

He shut his eyes and shook his head. No, this was too much and his head was hurting and he took a bite of the jell-o and now he was going to die and he thought Ben said to stay with May but now he couldn’t and why was there a pain in his head now?

He could feel hands pulling at his own. When did he reach up to grab his hair? Now he was pulling his hair and someone was trying to pull his hands away and his wrist was screaming at the movement.

But he could feel something flowing in his veins. It was cold and he shivered and noticed his wrist wasn’t hurting anymore. His hands were dropping and he opened his eyes to find the world blurry. It looked like May was crying, but he couldn’t be sure. She kept getting blurry and blurry and Dr. Wu was talking, but he sounded underwater.

He closed his eyes and didn’t try opening them again.

* * *

 

Dr. Wu had to finish his check-up on Peter. Even if he had to sedate him halfway through. May didn’t ask him any questions. If she wanted to really know, she could give Peter a check-up herself. Instead, she grabbed some paper towels and cleaned up the spilled jell-o.

When Dr. Wu finished, he left without saying a word to May, but did offer an encouraging squeeze to her shoulder. She was thankful for that. By this point, she was tired of everyone’s ‘encouraging’ words.

God, she didn’t want to even think about how many messages and calls she had on her phone with said ‘encouraging’ words.

Peter didn’t wake up again. At least not while May was awake. She drifted in and out of sleep, her body protesting at the lack of a bed again. But she wasn’t ready to leave his side.

Some of the nurses came in every few hours, changing out the IV, checking the machines, writing something down. Other than them, nobody else came into the room.

May was sure they had been close to a breakthrough. She had seen the delighted shock on Peter’s face when he first tasted the jell-o. How close his face looked to actually smiling.

But the lies he was fed took control and Dr. Wu had to give him a sedative before he could hurt himself.

It wasn't until the next day that they were awake at the same time.

May smiled, reaching for his hand.

But he pulled it back, moving it to pick at his cast. “Matt?” he whispered, looking around the room then to the door.

“He’s not here, honey. He hasn’t come back yet,”

He nodded, looking down at the blankets.

May tried talking to him, but he didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure how long she could stay in the room with him saying nothing.

Dr. Wu came in a few moments after May had finally run out of things to try and fill the silence with. “Can you come outside for a moment?”

She got up, casting a look back at Peter. But he didn’t look up from his blankets.

Dr. Wu stayed in the room, checking machines and asking Peter a few questions. May closed the door behind her. Out in the hallway was Tony and a woman. And she remembered Peter was scheduled for his evaluation today. “Oh, you must be Dr. Winslow,” May said, extending her hand out of a force of habit.

Dr. Winslow shook it. “Mrs. Parker, Mr. Stark has briefed me on Peter’s situation. Dr. Wu says he isn’t sure how long Peter will stay awake right now, so I’m just going to do a quick evaluation and send Mr. Murdock what he needs. Then afterwards, we can talk more and bring in Ms. Maximoff to figure out what the course of action should be,”

Dr. Winslow went directly to business. May preferred that than the usual ‘how are you?’ “Okay, but how much information from the sessions will you actually tell us?” She included Tony in her ‘us.’ Because somewhere along the way, he had become a big part of Peter’s life and was hurting as much as she was to see Peter in this state.

“Only what I think will be relevant for you to know. Later on, I would like to include you both in the sessions, but for right now it’ll only be him. And Mr. Stark, you will need to turn off any recording AI’s you might have in the room,”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Friday, pause all recording while Dr. Winslow is in Peter’s room,”

Dr. Winslow nodded in approval. “Thank you, Mr. Stark. Now, if it’s all right, I’d like to go ahead and get started,”

* * *

 

Matt wasn’t here. And he wasn’t sure when he was coming back. He needed Matt here. He needed him here to tell him if that was really May in the room or if it was just a ghost. Last time, Matt told him that it really was May. But that was…yesterday? The day before? He had lost his grasp on time months (years?) ago.

Dr. Wu came in though and pulled her out into the hallway. She left and Dr. Wu poked at things and asked him questions. He didn’t like the questions though. So he only shrugged in response.

The doctor let out a heavy sigh and he could feel the disappointment radiating off of him. He half expected a shock to follow. “Okay, Peter, I want to make sure you know that someone new is about to come in. She’s a very nice woman and just wants to talk with you. How does that sound?”

He shrugged.

Dr. Wu opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it. He left the room without another word.

He waited, listening to the heart monitor’s steady beeping. His eyes were drawn to the window. Sun was coming in again. It looked warm outside. He wondered if he could get up and climb out the window. Leave before anyone noticed and he could find Yvonne.

The door opened before he could formulate an escape plan. A woman walked in, smiling at him. “Hi there. I’m Dr. Winslow. I came by to talk to you. Your lawyer friend, Mr. Murdock, thought it’d be a good idea if we talked,”

Her hair was blonde and she was wearing glasses. She reminded him of Yvonne. And his chest started feeling weird and tight and his neck was itching.

He stayed still though, watching as she took a seat and pulled out a notepad and pen. She crossed her legs, wrote something down, then looked up at him with a smile. “So I hear from Dr. Wu that you’re healing pretty good?”

He didn’t respond.

She smiled and wrote something down. “Why don’t we start by introducing ourselves. I’m Dr. Winslow. And you are…?”

He looked down. He didn’t know who she was. And he was in here alone with her. Matt wasn’t here and the maybe ghost of Aunt May wasn’t here either. When was Yvonne coming back for him?

“It’s all right. You are safe here and anything you say won’t ever be repeated,”

His hand moved to pick at the cast around his wrist. “M’ Richard,” he mumbled.

He could hear the pen scratching across the paper. “Has that always been your name?”

Why was everyone asking him so many questions today? First it was May’s ghost, then Dr. Wu, now this Dr. Winslow? He didn’t want to answer. But Yvonne didn’t like asking twice and she looked like Yvonne so maybe she didn’t like that either.

He shook his head in response.

“What was your name before?”

He shifted. “Peter,” he whispered.

She wrote something down, still smiling, but he could tell it was forced. “When did you start going by Richard?”

He shrugged.

“Now, isn’t Richard the name of your father?”

Richard Parker. His father. Dad. Always with tootsie rolls in his pockets for him. Bringing presents home from his trips. Leaving him with Ben and May and then one day never coming back-

A strangled sound escaped his lips and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Okay, we don’t have to talk about that,” More scribbling. “It seems like your favorite visitor so far has been Mr. Murdock. What is it about him that makes him your favorite?”

His hand moved away from his cast to the blanket. He didn’t like all these questions. Yvonne never asked him this many questions. “He…pro-protects me,”

“Why do you need protection?”

“Because…because Yvonne’s not…she’s…she’s gone,”

“And you’re afraid she’ll come back?”

“No, she…she has to come back…” he whispered. “She…Yvonne protects me…”

Scribbling. “And since she isn’t here to protect you, Mr. Murdock is protecting you,”

He nodded. Finally, Dr. Winslow understood something.

“What are they protecting you from?”

No, that was a question he didn’t want to answer. He tensed and waited for her eyes to flash and-

“How about this?” Dr. Winslow ripped out a few pages from the back of her notepad and grabbed another pen. “Whenever I ask you a question you don’t want to answer, you go ahead and write it down. Once you write it down, we’ll rip it up and throw it in the trash. Sound like a deal?” she pulled up the table for him and set the paper down. She didn’t give him the pen though.

And he realized she was waiting for him to say yes or no. He nodded. She smiled and gave him the pen.

Dr. Winslow sat back down. “All right, do you think you can answer my question?”

The pen felt awkward in his hand. It had been a long time since he held a pen.

He wondered how far behind he was in school now.

No. Peter was behind in school. Not Richard.

He wrote down his answer, feeling his mouth dry up as he stared at the scrawled out name.

But then he held down the paper with his casted wrist and tore the paper in half with his other hand.

Dr. Winslow smiled. “Great job. The trashcan is right in the corner there. Do you think you can toss it?”

He crumbled up the torn pieces of paper, took a quick aim and…

It landed nowhere near the trashcan.

Dr. Winslow smiled. “Maybe next time. Now, how do you feel about what you just did? Tearing up and tossing out the name of whatever it is that you need protection from?”

He had torn up Tony Stark’s name. He tore it up and threw it in the trash and he felt…he didn’t know how to describe it. His chest didn’t feel so tight anymore and Dr. Winslow was still smiling.

But he needed to answer her question and this was an answer he wanted to give. So he said the only word that came up. “Warm,”


	19. Chapter 19

Going by the calendar Dr. Winslow brought in, he’s been disconnected from all the wires for a little over a week now. Except the IV. Dr. Wu said it was to make sure all the vitamins he missed out on were getting back into his system. But it was on a rolling stand and he could move it with him if he wanted to get up.

And since being disconnected from the wires, he spent most of his time sitting in front of the window.

The view was different than the one he had in his room with Yvonne. There wasn’t a wall of brick from the neighbors house. There weren’t any neighbors around actually. This far upstate, the Avengers has acres of wide open land.

It made him feel small.

On her third visit, Dr. Winslow gave him a journal. She told him to write everything down that he thought or felt. There was nothing too small not to mention to this journal. The best part, no one would ever read it. Only him. So any secret he wrote in the journal would stay secret.

_January 23_

_I’m scared. I want Yvonne. Matt says I’m safe here. I want to believe him, but am I still safe here when he’s gone?_

 

_January 24_

_I don’t see Uncle Ben anymore. I miss him._

_May brought me my phone. It’s dead. I don’t want to charge it. She said Ned and MJ are glad I’m back. What if she’s lying? Yvonne said everyone knows what I did. And even if it’s true, I’m going to hurt them. Because I can’t control my powers and I can’t protect them from the Avengers. I’ll hurt them._

_Dr. Winslow asks me too many questions._

 

_January 25_

_I don’t like it when Matt leaves._

_Where’s Yvonne?_

_Dr. Winslow said Wanda’s coming in tomorrow with her. I don’t believe her. Why would Dr. Winslow do that if she says I’m in a safe place?_

 

_January 26_

_Dr. Winslow brought in Wanda. I don’t think I like Dr. Winslow anymore. She doesn’t want to protect me. She said Wanda was going to help me see something. Wanda’s an Avenger. She was going to make me see lies._

_Dr. Winslow called Dr. Wu in. Wanda left, but Dr. Wu still gave me some medicine. My head feels fuzzy now. I think the medicine made me sleep. Dr. Winslow’s gone now too._

_Matt’s here though. I wish Matt would always stay here._

 

_Cont._

_Matt asked if Wanda can come in with Dr. Winslow. He promised Wanda wouldn’t hurt me. She just wanted to show me something. And then he promised that he would be right outside the door, ready to come in if he heard anything go wrong._

_So Dr. Winslow is coming back tomorrow with Wanda._

 

_January 27_

_I wasn’t sitting at the table. I was asleep. I went on patrol, climbed in through the window, and fell asleep. Then Yvonne was in my room and she put a rag over my face. I didn’t like the smell. And I can still smell it. It makes my stomach feel weird._

_My heard hurts now. Wanda made my head fuzzy._

 

_January 28_

_May’s here. She doesn’t disappear like Ben. Matt and Dr. Winslow says it’s because she’s real. When she holds my hand, it feels real._

_I wasn’t sitting at the table. I wasn’t waiting for her to come home._

_She’s asleep in her chair. She looks tired. I’m hungry, but she looks tired. I don’t want to wake her up. And if they haven’t brought food in, it’s because it’s not time for me to eat._

_Is it okay that I want a sandwich from Mr. Delmar? Maybe if I turn my phone on, I can ask Ned to bring me…_

_NO! No, Yvonne wouldn’t like that. She’ll know if I did that. When she comes back, she’s going to be so mad. I don’t want her to be mad._

_I can’t remember the last time she called me Little Dove._

 

_January 29_

_Dr. Winslow asked May to stay when she came in to talk to me. She asked me a bunch of questions, but I wrote them down instead. I’m getting better at throwing them in the trash._

_But then Dr. Winslow made me give an answer. She asked what the timestamp on the video was that Yvonne showed me. The one where I ruined everything. It was 11:30._

_Then she asked May what time she came home that night._

_May said she came home after midnight. That she went in to work at one and whenever she works that shift, she always comes home after midnight._

_And I remember that because May always said I have to be home before she is and…_

_I don’t like this. My head hurts. Why is Dr. Winslow confusing me? Where’s Matt? Why doesn’t he know where Yvonne is? When is she coming to get me?_

 

_January 30_

_Am I still Richard?_

 

_February 2_

_Dr. Winslow brought in Vision today. He showed me a video from his hand. It was the video from when I ruined everything. But it wasn’t the same one Yvonne showed me. I wasn’t at the table. I think I was asleep in my room._

_At 11:30, Yvonne came in. Not May. And then she looked in the camera and her eyes flashed._

_It scared me. I had to close my eyes because I thought I was going to hurt. But I didn’t and when I opened them again Dr. Winslow was writing something down. Vision looked worried, but I didn’t want to look at him. He’s weird and scary and an Avenger._

_He fast-forwarded the video a little, then slowed it down when Yvonne came out. And she was carrying me._

_Dr. Winslow asked if I remembered that. I don’t. And it hurts to think about it because Yvonne said I was at the table, but then Wanda says I was in my bed and I see myself in both places and it hurts and I don’t like thinking about that and Wanda’s a liar and she’s messing with my memories…_  


_Cont._

_What if Yvonne’s a liar?_

 

_February 5_

_My stomach grumbled when Dr. Winslow was here. She asked if I ate. I did. May brought me some jell-o. The orange kind. She made it, so it was okay to eat. But then Dr. Winslow asked if I was still hungry. I didn’t answer her, but then she told me it was okay to ask for more food. Only I know how much food I need to eat._

_I still want to ask Ned to bring a sandwich from Mr. Delmar’s. But what if he hates me?_

 

_February 8_

_I saw Mr. Stark standing outside. Matt’s here though. He’ll protect me._  


_February 9_

_Dr. Winslow wants to know why I think Matt can protect me. I can’t tell her. It’s a secret. Matt isn’t an Avenger and he has friends. Bad people will come for his friends if they find out his secret. I have to do this because it’s a good thing and Matt will still want to protect me if I keep his secret._

 

_February 10_

_I asked May for a sandwich from Mr. Delmar’s. She started crying and called me Peter and then left to grab the sandwich._

_No one’s called me Peter or Richard anymore. I think they’re waiting for me to tell them my name._

_I don’t know what my name is anymore._

_If I asked Yvonne, would she tell me the truth?_

 

_Cont._

_Dr. Wu told me my stomach would hurt if I ate the whole sandwich. I only had two bites. But I feel so full. The sandwich was good._

 

_February 11_

_Dr. Wu said I can get out of bed now. But I have to take my IV. I like sitting in front of the window. Is it okay that like the way it looks out here instead of my room with Yvonne?_

_Matt’s here. He asked me to tell him how it looks like outside._  


_February 12_

_Dr. Winslow asked who I want to be. Yvonne asked me that too._

_I don’t think I want to be Richard anymore_  


_February 13_

_I think May really is alive._

_If she is, then does that mean I don’t have to be scared of the Avengers? Especially of Mr. Stark?_

 

_February 15_

_My head hurts. It’s too confusing in my head. I just want to sleep._

 

_February 20_

_I’m going to see Mr. Stark today. Matt’s going to wait outside. Just like he did when Wanda came in._

_But May is probably alive. So I don’t have to be scared?_

 

He closed his journal when he heard the door open. It was Matt. “You ready?”

He stood up, partly leaning on the IV pole for support. “Yes,”

* * *

 

They had gotten Peter back fifty one days ago. Yet, Tony had seen him twice.

Tony tried not to think of the fact that out of all people, Matt Murdock was the one to be around Peter the most. After May of course. He was okay with May seeing Peter more, obviously, but Matt? The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen?

What the hell?

Their search for Yvonne went cold weeks ago. They had absolutely nothing. And Pepper didn’t let him stay holed up in the workshop anymore. She might be CEO, but the public still needed to hear from Tony Stark to make sure he was actually alive or in rehab.

So he cleaned up and held a press conference announcing he was working on a new computer software. It would help identify when something had tampered with a security camera’s recording.

Which was absolutely true and the only reason he was developing it was to catch Yvonne. But the public didn’t need to know that.

Murdock gave him the Spiderman suit and Tony began adding more safety features to it. He wondered if Peter would ever wear it again.

It gave him something to do though. Because for the last few months, his entire world revolved around finding Peter. But Peter came back so broken and there was nothing Tony could do to fix him. That job was up to Dr. Winslow and Peter himself.

He received updates on his recovery from everyone that was allowed in his room. Dr. Winslow was always vague and Dr. Wu almost had no real updates other than waiting for his body to completely heal from the pneumonia. Matt gave his updates as if he was reading off a file in front of a courtroom, most likely disassociating himself from having to see Peter in that kind of condition. And May almost never said anything except that he still didn’t believe she was real.

None of it was enough for Tony. He found himself one day standing outside of Peter’s room. He wasn’t going to go in. Dr. Winslow had made it clear that could set Peter off and they already had to sedate him the first time Wanda came in. She didn’t want a repeat.

But Tony could look in through the window on the door.

Peter was propped up in bed and picking at his cast, an empty cup of jell-o on the table. Matt was reading the _New York Bulletin_ to him.

He looked _healthy_. He was still thin, but that had to come from the diet and Dr. Wu insisting on easing him back onto solid foods. So far he had only gotten jell-o and some soup. But it didn’t look like you could break him with a single squeeze anymore. He was too pale still, from being inside for so long though. His hair was longer too. May hadn’t cut it since the last time, but Tony could clearly make out the black dye almost completely grown out. His brown curls were showing again.

Then Peter looked up and he looked terrified as he scrambled for Matt’s hand.

Tony had to walk away and insist the following impromptu sparring session with Natasha had nothing to do with that.

Just as Tony was about to question what Dr. Winslow was doing and why it was taking so long, she told him it was time he sit in for one of their sessions. There were ground rules though. He couldn’t actually call him Peter because they were still working on that. But he could refer to Peter, as if he was a separate person. No sudden movements. No prolonged eye-contact. No power postures. And Matt was going to be right outside the room, ready to come in if Peter felt he needed to.

Tony agreed to the terms.

They were going to meet in one of the many reading rooms. Small with enough chairs and big windows. Hopefully, it wouldn’t overwhelm Peter.

There was a knock on the door and Tony had to grip the arm rests to keep from standing up.

Dr. Winslow was the one to open the door. And there was Peter, his good hand holding onto the IV pole and his casted hand linked with Matt’s arm. He was in Star Wars pajama pants and a Midtown High sweater and looked so very Peter-like.

Except for the look in his eyes as he stared at Tony.

Tony let out a steady breath. He had to stay still and wait for Peter to approach.

“You ready to come in?” Dr. Winslow asked.

Peter didn’t answer, glancing to Dr. Winslow then to Tony then to the floor.

“It’s all right. Remember, this is a safe place. I’m going to be sitting right outside this door and will come in even if you just whisper for me,” Matt said, carefully stepping back.

Peter closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he pushed the IV pole inside and took a seat.

Dr. Winslow closed the door and Tony noticed how Peter tensed in his chair.

“You’ve come a pretty far way, haven’t you?” Dr. Winslow said as she pulled out two notepads. She handed one to Peter. “Finally out of your room. That’s exciting, isn’t it?”

Peter nodded, rubbing the paper between his fingers.

“Mr. Stark is really excited to see you again too. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah,” Tony responded immediately. “I’ve been, um…waiting, you know, for you to be ready to see me,”

Peter didn’t say anything.

Dr. Winslow didn’t say anything either. And it was quiet and Tony looked between her and Peter, wondering what she was waiting for. Because his turn to talk was over and Dr. Winslow was looking at Peter as if he was going to say something.

“Do you remember the first time you and Mr. Stark met?” Dr. Winslow finally asked.

Another silent nod from Peter.

“I bet that was pretty surprising. Seeing Tony Stark in your home. Your Aunt May tells me you loved Iron Man when you were little. So you got to meet your hero that day,” Dr. Winslow paused then turned to Tony. “Mr. Stark, why did you go out of your way to find Peter? From what I understand, it was a…busy time for you. What made Peter so special that you had to meet him?”

Oh, this could turn into a long speech for Tony. “Well, it’s exactly that. Peter’s a special kid. I don’t think I’d ever meet another kid like him. He’s smart. _So_ smart really. Any school would be lucky to have him and I bet he’d even get a full-ride too because he’s that smart. And when I was his age, I was screwing around, behaving like I had a death wish. But Peter gets these abilities and decides he’s going to do something about it. Not for fame or glory. No. He did it all to help the little guy,”

At that Peter looked up and held eye contact with Tony for a few moments.

“And Peter loves his Aunt May. I don’t think he could ever hurt her in any way,”

Peter was picking at his cast now.

“Sounds like Mr. Stark thinks very highly of Peter,” she tapped her pen against the notepad. “Do you know if Yvonne thought the same thing too?”

Peter closed his eyes. “…I’m her little dove,” he whispered.

Dr. Winslow wrote something down. “But did she think the same things Mr. Stark does about Peter?”

He opened his eyes and wrote something down. Then he tore up the paper.

But Tony knew he wrote out ‘no.’

“So if Peter didn’t actually hurt his Aunt May in any way and Mr. Stark thinks all these wonderful things about Peter, what do you think that means for you?”

Tony watched as he picked even more at the cast. Little pieces of the hardened gauze was falling to the floor.

Dr. Winslow was patient. Not moving or showing any sign of getting tired of waiting. But Tony was tired of waiting. He wanted to shake Peter. Shake him awake and hug him and tell him there was no way in hell he would ever hurt him because he was too good. He was one of the few good things in his life.

Now look at where they are.

“I…” Peter wrapped his hand around the cast, holding it tightly. “I’m not Ri…” A strangled sound escaped his lips and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Okay, let’s take some deep breaths,” Dr. Winslow said, moving forward in her seat.

Peter shook his head and brought his hands up to cover his ears. “No. No, I don’t like this. I don’t…Matt! Matt! I don’t like this! Yvonne’s going to be mad! She’s going to be mad and I can’t make her mad! Not again!”

Tony forced himself to stay in his seat. To not move. To not reach out to Peter as he began hyperventilating. To stay still and let the helplessness he felt when Peter first went missing fill him all over again as Peter struggled to breathe and called out to someone else for help.

Matt came in after the second call from Peter. He knelt in front of Peter, grabbed his hands and pressed his forehead against Peter’s, whispering words that Tony couldn’t hear.

Peter’s breath was still short when Matt left the room with him. Tony assumed it wouldn’t get better until he was back in his own room. Away from him.

Dr. Winslow let out a heavy sigh as she closed her notebook and stood up once Matt was gone with Peter. “I know it might not seem like much, but he’s making progress. Peter hasn’t shared everything he went through during his time with Yvonne and I don’t think he ever will. But you have to believe me when I say that what you saw was progress,”

Tony leaned back in his seat. “Whatever it takes, just pull Peter back out of his head,”

Dr. Winslow gave him a sad smile. “I don’t think he’ll ever fully come back out of his head,”

She left the room and Tony wondered if May knew this.

Before he could think of finding a new and maybe better qualified psychologist for Peter, his phone buzzed. He hesitated when he saw who it was. But he answered anyways. “Foggy Nelson. What can I do for you?” He was too tired to come up with a witty greeting or mention that Foggy really shouldn’t be calling him in the first place.

_“Mr. Stark, hi!”_

Tony rolled his eyes. Some people never truly got over being star-struck when talking to him.

_“Um, Matt told me to call you. I was just talking with him, but he had to go. Didn’t really explain, but he does that,”_

“Why did Matt tell you call me?” Tony asked.

_“Right. Detective Mahoney, our contact at the precinct in Hell’s Kitchen called me, says he’s got a Henry Blakewell in here. Yvonne’s ex-husband,”_

* * *

_Cont._

_I’m not ready to be Peter again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has gone through so many different versions and edits, but now we have this and I hope you readers enjoyed it!! Not going to lie, this had to be one of the hardest chapters to write though :P
> 
> Just to make sure everyone's clear, with Peter's journal entries, the cont. means it's the same day, he just set the journal down for a while, then picked it back up to write something more.
> 
> Leave your thoughts because I'm dying to know what you think!!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned how much I love reading every single comment you readers leave??? Because I love them all so much and thank so much for always giving feedback and leaving fun comments!! Seriously, so appreciated. Leave some fun and awesome comments for this new chapter??

Foggy watched as Henry drained his second cup of tea. The waitress passed by and he held up his cup. She just nodded, taking it to the back of the kitchen for a refill.

Henry glanced at his phone. “I should really be going,”

“No, no, wait. Just a few minutes longer. I’m sure he’ll show up soon,”

Henry grumbled something, looking behind Foggy to see if the waitress was coming out any time soon.

“I already gave my statement to the police, gave an unofficial statement to you, and let you convince me to wait for your buddy at this diner. It’s been almost an hour. I’ve done my good deed, now I need to go,” Henry said, stuffing his phone back in his pocket and sliding out of the booth.

The waitress came back out and set the cup down and a new packet of tea.

Foggy smiled. “But she did just bring you some more tea. Might as well finish it,”

Henry rolled his eyes, settling back down. "I'm leaving as soon as I finish this cup,"

While Henry proceeded to work on finishing the tea as fast as possible, Foggy checked his phone. Tony had sent him a message a few minutes after he hung up. _ETA 47 minutes._

And for nearly an hour, Foggy had to stall because Tony wanted to meet this man.

Detective Mahoney had given him the call as soon as Henry walked into the precinct. But because there was no official case open against Yvonne since they had yet to apprehend her, Mahoney couldn’t hold him. He could only take the statement and let Henry be on his merry way.

He didn’t tell Foggy he couldn’t wait outside the precinct to take an unofficial statement though.

Ten minutes after making the call to Matt, quickly followed up by a call to Tony after Matt hung up on him, Henry walked out of the precinct.

“Henry Blakewell?”

Henry paused to look at Foggy. “I already gave my statement inside. Did I forget to sign something?”

“No, I’m sure Detective Mahoney gathered all the necessary information. I’m Foggy Nelson of Nelson and Murdock law firm-“

Henry took a step back and held up his hands. “I do not want to get involved in this. I gave my statement. I’m done. I was done with her ten years ago and I am not going to get pulled back in,”

“I just want to ask you a few questions-“

Henry turned and started walking away. “Get your answers from my statement!”

“My friend is with the last kid she hurt!” Foggy called out.

Henry paused.

“I’m sure you gave a detailed report to the police, but I just want to ask you a few more questions,”

Henry’s shoulders slumped as he turned around, raking a hand through his graying curls. “All right, fine. What do you want to know?”

“Uh, so I’m actually waiting for…my partner,” Holy shit, he just referred to Tony Stark as his partner! “He’ll be here soon, but we could wait for him at a diner or something?”

So they waited for almost an hour and Foggy was running out of ways to make sure Henry didn’t leave. But while there was still tea in his cup, the door opened.

Despite the sunglasses and baseball cap, Foggy knew it was Tony.

Tony saw them and headed straight for them. He slid into the booth, sitting directly across from Henry. “Where the hell is Yvonne?” Tony growled, leaning over the table and restraining himself from grabbing Henry.

“How should I know? I haven’t seen her in ten years. I’ve told the police everything, so I don’t know why your partner insisted you had to talk to me,”

Foggy held his breath and waited for Tony to question why he thought they were partners. But that was the last thing Tony wanted answered.

He took off his sunglasses and Henry paled. Of course he recognized Tony Stark. “Your ex-wife took Peter Parker, an intern of mine and close friend of the family,” Tony said in a low voice. “Her face was all over the news, yet you didn’t come forward with any kind of information. And now, practically two months after we find Peter, _broken_ by her no less, and Yvonne completely off the grid again, do you decide to come forward with whatever information you gave the police. Kind of suspicious if you ask me,”

Henry glanced between the two of them. “Look, I was not a part of anything she did. Yvonne’s sick. When we got divorced, I wanted nothing to do with her. We had nothing left that could keep us together, so I told her I never wanted to see her again,” Henry gave a light scoff. “She made sure of that,”

“Do you want coffee or something to drink?” The waitress came back and interrupted them, startling them as well.

Tony lowered his head and waved her away before she could get a good look at him. “What do you mean?” he asked once she was gone.

“Yvonne wasn’t always crazy. She was actually brilliant and great with computers. She developed this implant that can alter what a person can see. I don’t know how it works, but I just know it does. I had no idea, but she put one of those in me, making it impossible for me to see her. It’s a long story, but I had an MRI a few weeks ago, it showed up, the doctors took it out, and now I see her anytime her face comes on the news,”

Peter had an implant in him. So then the implant did much more than shock him. He would have to look into that. “You say she wasn’t always crazy. What made her snap?” Tony pressed.

Henry looked down, staring into his tea. “Our, um…our son died. Ten years ago. After that, Yvonne was never the same. Our marriage was already going down the drain and after Richard died, there was nothing left to save,”

Tony tapped his finger on the table. “How did he die?” he had already read the morgue report, but it was vague.

“An accident,” Henry responded. Too quickly and too vaguely. He picked up his cup and took a long sip.

“What kind of accident?” Foggy asked, his lawyer instincts kicking in.

Henry fidgeted a little in his seat. “He just…he had a really bad fall. Hit his head and never recovered,”

“Where did he fall from?”

“It was outside in our backyard. I wasn’t there when it happened. Yvonne was,”

“Did she push him?” Tony accused.

“No! She would never do that! She loved Richard and…” Henry shook his head. “No. Even I don’t believe she’d be capable of doing that,”

“Yet, she killed Jacob Wright and attempted to kill Peter Parker. And who knows if there’s other kids she’s murdered,”

“She didn’t kill him because Richard did it! It was an accident, but he…” Henry looked around the diner then leaned forward. “Richard was special. He had a…mutation,”

Both Tony and Foggy leaned in even closer at that word.

“He could kind of…I don’t know how to explain it, but he could make these bubbles. He could make them around anything and they would float in the bubble, but they’d pop just as easily as an actual soap bubble. Ever since he was little, he could do this and when he was older he was always experimenting and seeing what he could. A month before his seventeenth birthday, he decided to see what would happen if he put himself in a bubble.

“Richard was basically flying, floating inside this bubble in our backyard. Yvonne was watching the whole time and telling him to be careful and…” Henry let out a deep breath. “The bubble popped and he fell. Hit his head on concrete and never woke up,”

Henry didn’t look at them. Ten years didn’t erase the grief of a parent losing a child. He cleared his throat. “I’ve dealt with enough because of her. If you need to know anything else, you can ask the police for my statement,” he said, draining the last of his tea and standing up.

Neither stopped him and there probably wasn’t anything else they could say that would keep him there longer.

Foggy spoke first. “I’ll talk with Detective Mahoney and get his statement. I’m sure there’s more that he didn’t tell us in his statement,”

“And even more that he didn’t tell the police either,” Tony mumbled. Yvonne might’ve been brilliant with computers, but no one was smart enough to change a video recording with just one look or completely erase all records of ever existing. No, there was still something missing. Tony pulled out a bill and tossed it on the table. “I’ll tell Matt you said hi,” he slipped his sunglasses back on and left.

Foggy looked down at the bill. A hundred dollar bill. For three cups of warm water and tea bags.

Only Tony Stark.

* * *

The meeting with Tony didn’t go well. Dr. Winslow gave May a quick update on the situation. Then she suggested she wait until tomorrow to see Peter.

And if the meeting didn't go well, May assumed the progress Peter had made was now erased.

May tried to find Tony, to get his thoughts about the meeting, but Friday informed her that he had left to take care of some business.

She didn’t press for any other information and it didn’t seem like Matt was coming out of Peter’s room anytime soon. If May spent another moment at the compound just waiting for information, she would snap.

It only made sense for her to go home. Even if Peter wasn’t coming home with her. And it would be her first time going home since they got him back.

Which explained why she hesitated at the front door.

When she first saw him in that hospital room after realizing it was him, she thought the nightmare was over. He was back and safe, and getting medical attention and they could resume their normal lives that included him swinging from rooftops and sometimes fighting with a group of heroes.

Instead, she wondered if this had just turned into a new kind of nightmare.

She finally opened the door, fearing one of her neighbors would come out and want an update or offer their ‘thoughts and prayers.’ Standing inside the apartment with the door closed behind her, May shivered and her eyes went directly to the window in the living room.

It was still open.

All winter, it had stayed open in the hopes that Peter would just…crawl in through the window, coming back home to her. And Peter was back, but he wasn’t home yet. In May’s mind, there was a huge difference.

She left it open, not wanting to think of her gas bill.

The apartment looked exactly how she left it on New Year’s Eve. The Christmas decorations were still up and nothing was out of place. Except for the piles of mail and papers on the dining table. No doubt coming from the Avengers as they checked in on her place while she stayed by Peter’s side.

May kept her coat on and began looking through the piles. Junk mail, a few late Christmas cards, and bills. So many bills.

The hospital had given her a temporary paid leave of absence, not even waiting for May to put in an official request, telling her to take the time she needed. But the pay was half of her normal salary and the bills were going to start eating away at her savings soon.

She wasn't even thinking about the extra charges from the late fees and interest rates bumping up.

She was going to have to go back to work soon, but how could she leave Peter? Even now, she was having a hard time being so far from him and this was only to check on things in their apartment.

She moved on to the pile of papers. They were for her bills. Except they weren’t late notices. They were confirmation numbers for payments and receipts. Someone had been keeping up with paying her bills as well.

It could honestly be anyone on the team, or even Happy or Pepper, or a joint effort from everyone. And it was one less thing May had to worry about while she waited for Peter to recover enough to begin their new normal.

May just wanted Peter to look at her and smile.

She was sure he almost smiled when he had that sandwich from Delmar’s.

A thought occurred to her. She still had that meatball soup in the freezer. Peter loved Delmar’s, but she knew for a fact that he loved her soup even more. Surely that would bring him closer to at least smiling.

* * *

 

He smelled something. It was so familiar and good and it made his stomach give an odd clench as it tried to decide whether or not it was hungry. It smelled like…no. He was too scared to even think of that word. Because that was part of his old life.

He wasn’t ready to open his eyes yet. He was scared Matt wouldn’t be there anymore. He wouldn’t be sitting in the chair by his bed. Instead, Tony Stark would be there. Waiting for him to wake up so he could kill him.

But he saw Tony yesterday. He sat right across from him and Tony…didn’t try to hurt him. He said nice things about Peter.

And it didn’t make sense. It didn’t fit with what Yvonne told him.

He didn’t like it and he hoped Dr. Winslow didn’t make him do something like that again.

It was so scary, but Matt was there and he came for him. Matt helped him remember how to breathe and stayed awake with him all night because he was too scared to fall asleep. But when the morning sun was beginning to peek in through the blinds, he knew his eyes closed and he fell asleep out of exhaustion.

And whatever that smell was woke him up. He wasn’t complaining about it though. It smelled really good and he was sure he slept through breakfast and didn’t have lunch or dinner yesterday because he didn’t want to eat.

His stomach grumbled.

He took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes.

And Matt wasn’t there anymore.

May was.

She closed the book she was reading and smiled at him. “Hey sleepy head,”

He looked out the window. It looked like the sun was starting to go down. He glanced at the calendar. Another whole day he slept through.

“I heard your stomach grumble. You hungry?”

He nodded and let her push the button on his bed that propped him up to a sitting position. She slid the table over his lap and grabbed a bowl that was sitting on the nightstand.

It was meatball soup.

And he saw himself sitting at the table with May and Ben and he was so small and didn’t want to eat and he missed Mommy and Daddy, but May made him meatball soup and he ate the whole thing.

And he was a little bit older and so sick and couldn’t keep anything down and Ben was out getting him medicine and May made him meatball soup and it was so good, even if he could only really eat the broth.

And it was two years ago and he was siting at the table with May and Ben’s chair was empty and she bit into the mac and cheese he cooked, but it didn’t cook right and he wanted to cry, but then May started laughing and it was the first time she had laughed since Ben died and she asked him if he wanted meatball soup.

He grabbed the spoon and scooped up a few vegetables and a small piece of one of the meatballs.

“I made it a few days after…um, it’s been in the freezer for a while. I hope it doesn’t taste like freezer burn,”

It didn’t. It tasted like her famous meatball soup.

And there was no way a dream or a ghost could replicate that taste.

He lowered the spoon and looked at her. It felt like his heart might jump out of his chest and his throat felt weird and tight and his eyes were starting to burn.

May met his eyes, her own starting to fill with tears, and she smiled.

“…Aunt May?”

May nodded, leaning forward just a little, but not reaching out. As if she didn’t want to scare him away.

“I…” he looked down at the soup. Warm and delicious and tasting like…

Like home.

“I didn’t…I didn’t hu-hurt you…I…” Something wet slid down his cheek and he looked up at her. She was crying. “I didn’t do it. I didn’t…kill you,”

May shook her head. “No. No, you didn’t hurt me. You could _never_ hurt me,”

And she was so close he could touch her and the soup was so good.

His arms reached out before he could think of what he was doing. And he was hugging her. Burying his face into her shoulder and holding on tightly to her and the fact that she wasn’t going to disappear

She was here. She was real. She was alive.

Because a dream or a ghost couldn’t make meatball soup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, I really hope that last bit made you at least watery-eyed. 
> 
> And for the first part of the chapter with the background on Yvonne, I'm not trying to create sympathy for her (unless you want to feel sympathetic for her, then go for it), but more just explain a little bit of her actions and what's been driving her. And there are a few things still left to be revealed...


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a difficult one to get out, but I finally did it! Hope it's an enjoyable read!
> 
> And a heads up. I get super busy around the holidays with work events and parties and family, which is part of the reason why this update is later than usual. So just to make sure you readers know, the next couple of updates might be later than normal. 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy and as always, I love reading your thoughts so write a comment for me to read and re-read multiple times because each comment makes me smile!

_February 25_

_I never hurt Aunt May._

_She brought me her meatball soup. I think I finished it all. Matt got to try some. He said it's the best thing he's ever eaten._

_I never hurt Aunt May so that means I don’t have to be afraid anymore._

_But I don’t understand why Yvonne lied to me.  
_

 

_February 27_

_Dr. Wu took off the cast. My wrist looks weird. It’s smaller than my other wrist. He says I need to build up the muscles again. And then he said I should get out and start walking more. I don’t need to stay in my room all day._

_But Yvonne never let me out of the room unless she called me. I have to stay in my room._

 

_March 1_

_Dr. Winslow asked me why Yvonne was protecting me if I didn’t hurt Aunt May._

_I don’t like it when Dr. Winslow asks me questions like that. They confuse me._

 

_Cont._

_I went on a walk with Matt. That was okay, right? He asked me if we could. He said he wanted a tour. Aunt May said it was okay, but she doesn’t know Yvonne. She doesn’t…_

~~_I don’t want Aunt May to know Yvonne._ ~~

 

_March 3_

_The snow’s all gone._

_I love the snow._

 

_Cont._

_Me and Matt walked again today. We saw Wanda. She didn't make my head feel fuzzy this time. She said we could have a snowball fight the next time it snowed._

_I think I saw Mr. Stark too. But I'm not sure..._

 

_March 4_

_The soup’s all gone. So Aunt May brought me another sandwich from Delmar’s. I ate the whole thing this time. My stomach didn’t hurt._

 

_March 5_

_Dr. Winslow asked me if the team could see me. She said they want to make sure I’m okay. They care about me._

_But that’s not what Yvonne said._

_But Aunt May’s alive. I never hurt her._

_Yvonne…lied._

_I don’t know if I can do it…_

 

_Cont._

_I don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be afraid._

 

_March 6_

_I went on a walk with Aunt May. We saw Natasha. She smiled at me. I held Aunt May’s hand._

_And then Aunt May waved at Natasha and she waved back. Aunt May told me it was okay._

_Aunt May wouldn’t lie. Not like…_

 

_March 7_

_I turned my phone back on. I have a lot of messages from Ned and MJ and a bunch of other people from school._

_I don’t want to read them yet._

 

_Cont._

_Ned sent a new message. A daily update about school…MJ too. She said hers has the usual corrections._

_They’re calling me Peter…_

 

_March 9_

_Dr. Wu said I can leave. I don’t need to be in the medbay anymore._

_I think that means I can go back with Aunt May._

_Back home._

_I don’t think I’m ready, but that would mean I’m not at the compound anymore. I don’t have to worry about Mr. Stark coming in._

_Except I don’t need to be scared of Mr. Stark anymore. I never hurt Aunt May so I don’t have to be afraid of Mr. Stark._

 

_March 10_

_Dr. Winslow wants me to see the team before I go back home. Aunt May said it could be like a dinner party. She said she’ll even make meatball soup._

_I don’t think I can do it._

 

_Cont._

_I went walking around the compound with Matt again. He said he’ll be there. He’ll sit next to me and Aunt May will sit on my other side. He said I’ll be safe. And I’ll be safe because Aunt May’s alive, I never did anything to her._

 

_March 13_

_Rhodey walked with me and Matt today. He told a few jokes. Matt thought they were funny. And I only felt a little bit scared this time._

 

_March 14_

_Dr. Winslow asked me again why Yvonne said she was protecting me. Tonight’s the dinner and I think she wanted me to answer her before the dinner._

_I can’t. Because I don’t know the answer._

_I don’t like that I don’t know the answer. It…scares me._

* * *

 

“Tony? What are you still doing down here?” Rhodey asked as he walked down the stairs to Tony’s workshop.

Tony looked up, snapping the case shut as he did. “Just…finishing some stuff up,” he said. He scratched his beard, making a note to trim it tomorrow.

Rhodey looked down at the closed case. “You think he’s ready for it?”

Tony blew out a deep breath. Of course Rhodey had caught a glimpse of the red and blue suit. “I don’t know,” He didn’t think Peter would ever be ready for it again. But that didn’t stop Tony from adding all kinds of modifications and upgrades to the suit once Matt handed it back.

“Come on, Tones. Everyone’s already in the dining room. We’re just waiting for Matt and Peter to come,”

Tony took the case as he followed Rhodey upstairs. “He shouldn’t be leaving. It’s not safe for him still,”

“But the police have no leads. They’ve gone through all the evidence, searched her home, they even managed to get a statement from her ex-husband. But they’ve hit a dead-end and you know our own resources aren’t much help either. We got Peter back. That’s what matters,”

And while Rhodey had a point, it still didn’t mean that Tony agreed with May’s decision.

He wondered if he could’ve had a sway over May’s decision. Especially since she waited to talk to him before even making one.

He was coming back from an SI event. He was showing himself in public more often to put off the new description of him. Tony Stark: billionaire that mysteriously cares too much for a high school intern.

May was waiting outside his personal suite, sitting on the floor with a cup of coffee.

“May? Is everything all right?” Tony asked, pulling out his phone. He hadn’t gotten any kind of notification about Peter from Dr. Wu or Dr. Winslow.

“Yeah, he’s fine. He’s…” she looked up at him and smiled. “He’s doing good actually. Dr. Wu gave him an official clean bill of health. His metabolism still has a ways to go, but it’s at ‘normal people’ level now and he just needs to keep building up his muscles,”

Tony smiled back, sliding down to sit with her on the floor, despite his protesting knees. He had caught a few glimpses of Peter lately. Walking around the compound with Matt or May. And each time, Tony backpedaled or turned a corner, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time Peter interacted with him.

But he could tell from the small glimpses that Peter was looking much better. His eyes looked more vivid and his cheeks were full again.

He heard from multiple sources that it was all due to May’s meatball soup which was apparently incredible. It was hard to believe after tasting her banana nut bread.

“Dr. Wu says there’s no reason for Peter to stay any longer in the medbay. He can leave,” May continued. “He said Peter can come home,”

But could he really? From what Tony understood, Peter still hadn’t even smiled. He wasn’t running his mouth about science and technology and ‘oh Mr. Stark, what if we added a new web feature that was like acid, but didn’t actually do any permanent damage?’ They still couldn’t call him Peter and the last time Tony interacted with him, it sent him into a panic attack that had even Dr. Winslow worried.

How could they consider letting him go back home with May?

“I think it’ll be good for him. Have him start catching up in school. Get him back in a familiar setting, a routine,”

_Back to normal._

“What do you think?”

No. It was a horrible idea. Yvonne was still out there, the city was too big and May’s apartment wasn’t secure enough. Anything could happen and Tony wouldn’t be just down the hall or in his workshop or anywhere close if something did happen.

But did that even matter since he couldn’t get within ten feet of the kid?

Tony looked at May, surprised and honored that she was even asking for his opinion. And he wanted to be completely honest with her, tell her Peter needed more time here. But May looked exhausted. She wasn’t resting here. This wasn’t her home.

And Tony couldn’t bring himself to be selfish.

“You know better than all of us what Peter needs,”

That statement was enough to confirm May’s decision.

“Remember what Dr. Winslow said,” Rhodey reminded him as they stood just outside the doors of the large dining room.

“Yeah, don’t overwhelm him and don’t call him Peter,” Tony scoffed. “But you don’t think a room full of the people he was made to believe were going to kill isn’t going to overwhelm him?” he said with a snap.

Rhodey sighed. “Just…act normal,”

Normal. The one thing everyone wanted, but would never be possible again.

But he kept his grip on the metal case as he walked in with Rhodey. Maybe tonight he would be able to get close enough to Peter to give him his suit.

Or maybe he was going to have to leave it with May and accept that Peter would most likely never wear the suit again.

* * *

May leaned against the kitchen counter, half-listening to a conversation between Vision and Clint. She wasn’t even sure what they were talking about anymore, but knew enough from the eye contact they made with her they were trying to include her in the conversation. So she nodded her head occasionally and pretended like her attention wasn’t completely on the door.

But when the door finally opened and Matt came in with Peter, May didn’t even bother excusing herself from them.

Dr. Winslow had told everyone to act normal, don’t overwhelm him. And that’s exactly what everyone was doing. They carried on with their conversations, only glancing at the door to see that he was finally here.

May walked up to him, taking in how his fists were clenched at his side and his eyes were darting around the room. “Hey honey, you ready to eat?”

Peter looked at her and his hands unclenched. He nodded. “You’ll sit next to me?”

“Of course. And Matt’s going to sit on the other side too,”

He let out a deep breath and nodded again.

May smiled, reaching out to fluff his hair a little. It was getting long again and the last of the black dye had grown out. She was going to cut his hair tomorrow.

Peter led Matt to the table and they sat down while May went back into the kitchen and stood in line to serve herself, Matt, and Peter some soup. She wasn’t sure who had been the first, but half the team was already sitting at the table and eating, talking and carrying on… _like normal_.

May watched as Peter hesitated before taking a seat in the chair across from Natasha. She smiled at him and started talking.

“He seems to be doing good so far,”

May looked up when she heard Sam speaking to her. He glanced at her, then looked back to the bowl he was serving himself. He was digging around the pot for a good serving of meatballs. “Yeah, so far. But I don’t think he’s seen Tony yet,”

Sam looked up and followed May’s gaze towards Tony. He was in a back corner of the dining room, Pepper talking to him as his eyes shifted from her to Peter. Sam shook his head, focusing back on serving himself. “I hope Pepper’s telling him to stop lurking in the shadows,”

May’s mouth twitched up into a smile. “Oh my God, that’s exactly what he’s doing,”

Sam smirked, taking a slow step back as he tried not to spill any soup from his bowl. “Peter’s going to do just fine tonight,” he said before moving to the table and trying not to spill from his overfilled bowl.

She served two bowls, one for Matt and another for Peter. When she set them down, Matt insisted for her to take one of the bowls. He could serve himself. He didn’t give her a chance to argue, getting up and using his stick to guide him to the kitchen.

Peter was already digging into his soup. He was just a few pounds away from his normal weight. And she could take care of that easily.

And everyone was acting normal. The conversations were overlapping and there was laughter and teasing.

She noticed Peter would flinch every time it got a little too loud, but either Matt or herself would give him a small touch, reminding him of where he was and that he was safe. He had even passed Steve a napkin. His hand shook and he made eye contact for less than a second, but he did it.

Tony was sitting on the opposite end of the table. He was the only one who didn’t seem engaged at all. And May noticed he kept stealing glances at Peter and shifting uncomfortably as if he wanted to say something.

He never did though.

Peter kept looking at Tony too. It started out as small glances and then progressed into stares. May hoped this would finally be the moment when Peter would approach him.

Everything was going great and Peter was doing good and responding to some questions Natasha and Happy had for him and it looked like he was about to smile when Matt and Sam began teasing each other.

May should’ve known it wouldn’t last.

“Crackers! That’s what’s missing! Who wants some crackers? I think there’s some saltine ones somewhere here,” Clint exclaimed loud enough to draw everyone’s attention.

Peter tensed, his jaw was clenched and May could hear him breathing deeply.

“Hey, what is it? What’s going on in that head of yours?” Matt asked him softly.

No one seemed to notice except for those directly around Peter. The conversations continued. May looked around to see what could have possibly triggered him. Then she noticed Tony staring at them with concern all over his face.

Of course he noticed something was wrong.

“Found them!” Clint said, coming from the kitchen and shaking a half-empty box of saltine crackers. “Who wants some?”

“No!” Peter said, jerking a hand up to slam the table. Matt caught his hand before he could actually bring it down, still speaking softly to Peter to get him to calm down.

Peter shook his head and closed his eyes. “No. No, I do-don’t want…no crackers, _please_ ,”

The room fell silent aside from Peter’s breathing and Matt’s whispered words.

God, what was she thinking taking him back home tomorrow when there were probably a million little things that might set him off. Things like _crackers_.

Tony stood, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. He walked up to Clint, took the box of crackers from him, and threw them in the trash. “Any kind of crackers are banned, starting now. Deal?”

Clint cleared his throat and shrugged. “Probably don’t need all those carbs anyways,”

There were murmurs of agreement and conversations picked up again, albeit much subdued this time around.

May grabbed Peter’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Do you want to go back to your room already?”

Before Peter could answer, Tony walked up to them, standing behind Natasha to be in Peter’s direct line of sight. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Peter swallowed hard, staring at Tony. May held her breath, praying he wouldn’t be pushed over the edge again.

Then Peter finally nodded. “Yeah,”

Tony smiled. “Good,” he didn't move for a moment, then raised his hand to point towards the door. "You see that case over there by the door? That's yours. It's always yours,"

Peter looked over to where Tony had pointed as he walked away. May knew what was in that case and she was sure Peter did too. Her heart ached as she thought of how long it might take before he put that suit back on. If he ever did.

Peter took a few steadying breaths before turning to May. “I…I think I can stay longer,” he said softly. __

* * *

 

She watched him set everything up. The camera, the water buckets, the fire extinguishers. She had been watching him for almost three weeks now. Her schedule was off though, ruined by the police, by Tony Stark, by that stupid blind lawyer.

They had ruined everything for her and forced her to speed up her time frame. And she made so many mistakes that almost got her caught.

But she laid low for a few weeks. And her original plan was to not do anything for a while.

Then she saw him and the random bursts of fire that followed him when he thought no one was looking.

In a city this big, someone was always looking though.

His hair was a straight black, but at least she wouldn’t have to deal with the mess that came with hair dye. And this wouldn’t be the first time she dealt with straight hair.

She figured out his routine, knew that when he looked over his shoulder three times, a flame always followed with a grin on his face.

_This_ was him. It had to be. After nearly ten years of searching, she finally found him again.

Richard, her little dove, would always come back to her.

He was just a little different and she was having a hard time recognizing him.

He spent five minutes looking around the warehouse to make sure no one was there. He didn't notice her though as she slouched down in her car. He shook himself, cracked his knuckles, then a bolt of fire shot from his hand, hitting a wooden pallet. He let out a whoop, then rushed toward the burning wood with the fire extinguisher.

Yes, this was him. Now all she had to do was get everything ready for him. He wouldn’t be coming back to the home he grew up in, but it would have to do.

And she couldn’t afford to make any mistakes like the last one. She hadn’t made a mistake like that since the first one. Time had made her comfortable and she learned her lesson. She wouldn't make any mistakes with this one.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Casual Ableism

_Honey. Sweetheart. Buddy. Dear._

“Sweetheart, you think you want to try sitting at the table for dinner tonight?”

_Peter Parker. Peter Parker. Peter Parker._

“That schoolwork making any sense, honey?”

_Honey. Sweetheart. Buddy. Dear._

“Hey buddy, your aunt’s leaving to get some groceries. But I’m going to hang out here while she’s out,”

_Peter Parker. Peter Parker. Peter Parker._

“So what would make it easier for you to go back in there, dear? Maybe something small like making the bed,”

He hated this. He absolutely hated this. All of his schoolwork and his books and papers had Peter Parker written all over it. The messages from Ned and MJ always said Peter.

But the people he saw never called him that. Dr. Winslow. Matt. May. They always called him something else.

_Honey. Sweetheart. Buddy. Dear._

Never Peter. Never Richard. Never little dove.

He didn’t even want to think about his other name. The one that was associated with the suit folded up in the case Tony Stark gave him.

But he didn’t know how to tell them. How do you tell someone you want them to call you your name, but you’re not even sure what your name is anymore? Yvonne told him what his name was. She told him he was Richard. That Peter was someone else. Someone who had done horrible things and was wanted dead.

But that wasn’t true. He knew for a while now that it wasn’t true.

So why couldn’t he tell them what his name was?

A new visitor was coming today though. This whole week May had asked if he was sure, if it was really okay.

He felt ready though. He could do this.

His hands were sweaty though as he held his pencil and stared down at his Chemistry worksheet, his eyes going back and forth between the formula he was working on and the name his teacher wrote on the top of the page.

There was a knock at the door and he flinched, dropping his pencil on the coffee table.

May came out and looked at him. “Do you want to answer the door?”

He shook his head. That would mean going near the front door. He still wasn't ready for that.

She pursed her lips and he knew that wasn’t the answer she was wanting. But May went to the door and opened it. “Hello Ned,”

“May, hi!”

He turned around from his spot on the couch to watch as Ned gave May a big hug. He always gave affection with such ease.

Ned let go of May and she stepped aside to let him in. And Ned looked at him, his body practically vibrating with excited energy.

May leaned forward to tell Ned something, but he didn’t notice. He shot forward towards him with a wide grin. “Peter!”

Ned’s arms were around him, almost lifting him off the couch. He wasn’t sure if he couldn’t breathe because Ned was hugging him so tightly or because Ned was hugging _Peter_.

But Ned’s arms dropped quickly and he took a few steps back. “Oh, dude, I totally forgot! May she said…um…” Ned gave May a sheepish look. “Sorry if that…if it wasn’t…I just got…”

“It’s okay,” he said softly, resuming his crouched position over the coffee table.

Ned let out a breath and smiled. “I’m really glad you’re back, Peter,”

He called him Peter again. He swallowed hard, his eyes wandering back up to the name written on the homework.

“Ned, I need to show you something really quick over here,” May said, placing a hand on Ned’s shoulder and leading him into the kitchen. Another place he refused to venture into.

He glanced up to see them standing by the table. She whispered something to Ned. If he tried he could hear what she was telling him.

But he didn’t feel like it, looking down at the formula then the name.

They came back, Ned sitting on the other end of the couch and May grabbing her purse and pulling on a sweater. “Okay, I’m going to be right back. I’m just going to the bodega for some quick groceries. Do you need anything?”

He shook his head.

“Okay. Call me if you need anything. I will be right back,” May said, bending a little to meet his eyes.

“Okay,” he said, looking up to meet her eyes briefly.

She pursed her lips, then pressed a quick kiss to his temple. “I love you,” she said.

And she said it like it would be the last time she saw him. That’s how she always said it now, ever since she brought him back.

He didn’t like it.

May lingered for a moment, but then she sighed like she always did and left.

Ned looked at his worksheet. “Hey, that’s what we went over last week. Are you almost caught up with everything?”

He shook his head. He had only worked on Chemistry. Matt attempted to help him with Spanish, but he didn't want to. Chemistry was easy and he actually missed it.

“Oh. Well,” Ned rummaged around his backpack and pulled out a spiral. “Since it seems like you understand it more than me, do you think you can go over it with me? I got a D on that worksheet and there were some problems that every time I did them, I came up with totally different answers,”

He needed his help. And this wasn’t like when Matt pretended he needed help with something and asked him.

Ned really needed his help.

He moved over to sit closer to Ned. “Which one’s do you need help with?”

And when May came back, he was explaining the formulas and kept explaining them until Ned understood. Then they put together a Lego Star Wars set with the movie playing the background.

It felt almost normal.

Except Ned stopped calling him Peter. Most likely because May told him not to. No one was calling him Peter anymore.

He wasn’t sure if he liked that.

* * *

 

It was bright today. Matt could feel the warmth from the sun even through his suit jacket. He loosely held on to Peter’s elbow as they walked around Queens. An activity Dr. Winslow suggested. Peter needed sunlight and while May was always ready to drop whatever to take Peter outside for some fresh air, tension between them was building. 

Dr. Winslow tried to get it out, whatever it was that was bothering Peter. But he never gave her an answer or even a hint of what was going on in his head.

Talking to Matt seemed like the best solution to this problem.

The first time they went out, they barely made it to the end of the block. There were too many people around and it was loud and Peter planted his feet firmly and refused to move.

It took Matt several days to coax Peter into walking around the block. And that wasn’t including trying to pull out any conversation from him.

But a month after coming back home, Matt finally had him walking several blocks and could focus on trying to talk to him about May. Which was great because something happened recently and the tension seemed to double.

“So May told me you had your friend over last week. Ned, right?” Matt asked in an attempt to pinpoint what happened.

“Yeah,”

“When’s the next time he’s coming back?”

“I don’t know,”

Sometimes Matt wondered if Peter was directing some of the tension at him too with his short answers.

They walked in silence for while longer. Matt trying to come up with questions to pull out information and Peter most likely trying to figure out how to derail those questions.

But then Peter froze.

“What is it?” Matt asked, turning his head to listen for any threats.

He found the threat. But it wasn’t directed towards them.

Someone was getting mugged in an alley across from them.

“Are you going to do something about it?” Matt asked.

Matt could feel him begin trembling.

He took that as a no.

“Stay here,”

Matt didn’t take much time to consider if Peter would be okay left alone. There was someone who was in immediate danger and it was in his blood to react.

He moved down an alley, sensing no one around, and took off his glasses and folded up his white cane. It would be easier to take care of this if no one thought he was blind. He weaved through traffic and people and came in through the other end of the alley and turns out there was gun involved and he managed to pry it away and tossed it after quickly checking the safety was on.

He kicked and punched and dodged until he heard a thump and knew the would-be-mugger was lying unconscious on the ground. He turned around, catching his breath, to ‘look’ at the would-be-victim.

“Are you all right?”

Matt could pick up shaky breath as long hair rustled. He assumed it was a nod.

“Th-thank you. Oh my God, thank you so much,”

It was a kid. He was maybe a year or two older than Peter. “Call the police. I’ve got to get going,”

Matt left before he could ask any questions, tracing back his steps and pulling on his blind ‘mask.’ He easily picked out Peter’s heart as he walked back. It was racing and Matt felt the slightest hint of guilt at leaving Peter here all alone while he took care of the mugging.

“Hey. Hey, it’s all right. I’m back. I took care of it and you’re good. You’re safe, remember?”

Peter’s breaths were shallow and Matt prayed he wasn’t about to have a panic attack. “I could’ve…I _should’ve_ h-he-helped him. He was…and I just…”

“Take a deep breathe. It’s all right,” Matt said as he moved Peter out of the middle of the sidewalk.

“ _No_! I…” Peter’s hand buried themselves in his hair. Matt was ready to grab them if he started pulling. “I’m tired and I don’t…it’s not fair! I could’ve… _Spiderman_ …”

Peter continued spewing unfinished thoughts. But Matt picked up on that one word. _Spiderman_. From what he understood, this was the first time he was even acknowledging the existence of his alter-ego.

That had to mean something. Right?

“Come on, kid. Let’s get you back home,”

Peter finally pulled at his hair. Matt quickly managed to get his hands down. “No! I’m not…my name’s not _kid_ and I…” he growled in frustration and tried pulling his hands away from Matt.

Now they were getting somewhere. “Okay, then what is your name? What do you want everyone to call you?”

Peter began whimpering. The beginning of a few choked words escaped his mouth, but nothing coherent. Then he finally pressed his forehead against Matt’s chest and cried.

Matt rubbed his back, grateful to live in a city like New York where they might receive odd looks, but never approached and asked if everything was all right.

Because Matt wasn’t sure how to answer that right now.

At least he was almost certain where this new tension was developing from.

His name.

* * *

 

May said she was going to be right back. Like she always did. And this was the third time she left him completely alone. No one to babysit him. 

Ever since that walk with Matt when he stopped a mugging, he hadn’t gone outside anymore. Matt said it was good exercise and May said it was getting warmer and it’d be nice to feel the sun on his skin.

But he couldn’t. There was something wrong and he needed to do something about it, but he couldn’t figure out what. He wasn’t even sure what exactly was wrong.

Two nights ago though, as he laid on the couch trying to sleep, he made a guess of what he needed to do.

He needed to go back.

He didn’t mention it to anyone, knowing what their response would be. And May would never leave him alone ever again.

Five minutes after May left, he moved.

And he didn’t stop to think about anything until the moment he stepped outside of the apartment building.

His heart jumped into his throat and his palms began sweating.

This was a bad idea. It was wrong. May wouldn’t be happy. And then she would tell Tony Stark and what if…?

 _No._  

He had to do this. He pulled up the hood on his sweater and began walking.

The turns came easily, as if by muscle memory. He didn’t think he would ever forget the way. And the sun began going down, down, down, and he remembered he didn’t bring his phone. Or did he forgot it on purpose?

He kept walking, ignoring the odd feeling of guilt and fear and anxiety simmering in his stomach. He thought that maybe someone was following him too. But he pushed that feeling away.

And his feet were starting to hurt and he knew it was a long walk and it was dark and late and May would be so mad at him.

Maybe she would understand.

When his feet finally stopped, all of those thoughts drifted away.

They were replaced with a thousand other thoughts, racing and fighting to be the primary thought and he swore he could feel a slight tingle in the back of his neck.

Yellow police tape surrounded the house and hung on the door in a big ‘x’. He had only ever seen the outside of this house three times, but so many memories and thoughts and phantom pains came to his mind. It was almost making it hard to breath.

He stared at the house, scared to close his eyes and see those memories. His hands began shaking before he clenched them at his side.

“I want my name back,”

And he jumped a little, surprised to hear his own voice and those words. As soon as he spoke, it felt as if something was pushing down on his chest.

“I want my name back,” he said a little louder this.

The pressure felt heavier.

He didn’t hear the door of a car open and close or the footsteps of someone walking towards him.

“I want my name back!”

He looked down and picked up a rock from the yard. He threw, hitting the door directly in the center.

“I want my name back! I want my name back!!”

He found another rock and threw it, yelling the same thing over and over again.

Until red and blue lights began flashing against the house. His heart and the rock in his hand dropped as he spun around.

The police were here. They were coming out of their squad car and…

Wait, someone was approaching them.

He inhaled sharply. That was Tony Stark approaching the police.

Oh God, what did he do?

* * *

 

Tony got the alert from Friday as soon as Peter walked out of the apartment building. 

“Is he with anyone?”

“No, boss. That’s why I’m informing you,”

Tony rolled his eyes at the AI’s response, pulling up live video feed.

Peter walked with his head down and his hood up. But Friday locked on to him and kept visual on him, switching to another camera when necessary.

May had left to the bodega down the street. Peter was walking in the opposite direction. Tony pulled out his phone and scrolled through the messages with May and Dr. Winslow. Neither mentioned anything about letting Peter venture off on his own and he was certain they didn’t talk about that when they called with updates.

“We got any team members out there?” Tony asked, trying to keep his heart beat steady.

“None. They’re all out on separate missions.,”

And not for the first time, Tony regretted letting Peter walk out of the compound before he thought he was ready.

He almost went in the suit, but thought maybe the sound of the repulsors would set him off. Instead, he grabbed a random set of keys, shot Pepper a quick message, and drove off. He slipped on his Stark glasses and watched in the bottom corner the video feed of Peter and the map.

“Friday, call May,”

“Dialing…”

 _“Tony! Oh my God, Tony! He’s gone! Peter’s gone again!”_  

“I know-“

 _“What?! Where is he? Is he okay?”_  

“He seems fine. I’m driving out to follow him. I’ve got Friday tracking him on the CCTV’s,”

 _“Oh my God, Tony, I swear I just left for some quick food and he was fine the other times and I thought…”_  

“I understand, May. I really do,” Tony said, stepping on the gas a little more and trying quell the worry in his gut. “But things are different and he’s been getting better and I’ve got visual on him right now. It’s going to be fine,”

He imagined May was nodding as he listened to her shaky breaths. _“Please bring him back, Tony. I can’t lose him all over again,”_

“We’re not going to lose him. I’ll keep you posted,” he hung up, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter and pressing on the gas even more.

Yes, Peter was getting better. Dr. Winslow swore he was getting closer to recovering as much as possible for someone who went through what he did.

But then he saw that mugging with Matt a little more than two weeks ago. No one said it, but he could read between the lines. That incident set him back.

Tony thought that maybe he knew where Peter was going, but he didn’t want to admit it. Because if it was true, then that would mean Peter had been set back irrevocably.

An hour later, Tony finally made it to Peter’s location. But Peter kept walking and Tony decided not to stop him. He wasn’t sure what his reaction to him might be and he didn’t want to risk another Black Friday incident.

So he drove slowly, sometimes parking when Peter was just walking straight without any crowds around him. He still had Friday keep the video feed of him going. Just in case.

Peter kept walking, obviously knowing exactly where his end goal was. And Tony kept following, sending May the random update and refusing to panic when he had to stop for gas. Friday kept the feed going and Tony caught back up to Peter within minutes.

And he walked and walked and walked and it was dark and late, but Peter kept walking, making his way into a quiet neighborhood.

Peter walked a little more, then turned down a street and Tony felt his heart clench. He wanted to be wrong.

But Peter stopped and Tony would always remember that house.

Yvonne’s house. The place where she kept Peter. Hurt him, ruined him, nearly destroyed him.

Now here he was, standing right outside the house.

Tony couldn’t take it. He stepped out and walked towards Peter.

But he paused when he heard him say something.

“I want my name back!”

Then Peter bent down, picked up a rock, and threw it right at the door.

Well, this definitely was not what Tony was expecting.

Peter kept yelling and throwing rocks. And Tony stood back and let him, wondering if Peter even realized he was standing right there.

It went on for a few minutes and Tony was sure one of the neighbors had called the police by now.

But Peter kept yelling and Tony felt that maybe this was finally the big break through they were hoping for.

Sure enough, the police came after ten minutes of Peter’s yelling. Surprising time for NYPD, but Tony assumed it had to do with this particular house and the investigation.

He walked up to the officers once they got out. They squinted at him in the darkness until he just a few feet away. “Evening, officers,”

And if they didn’t recognize him because of the lighting, they definitely recognized his voice.

“Oh, uh, Mr. Stark!”

“We received a call about a noise complaint,”

Tony could easily pick out which one was the rookie. He turned around and looked at Peter. Peter was staring at them and even in the dark, Tony could make out the fear.

He let out heavy sigh and turned back to the officers. “Yeah, sorry about that. Kid needed to get something off his chest,”

The experienced one crossed her arms. “He the same kid that psycho took?”

Tony nodded.

She pursed her lips. “All right. So long as he’s done,”

They climbed back into the squad car and drove off.

Tony turned around and walked towards Peter, stopping before he got too close. “You had your aunt worried there for a minute,”

Peter didn’t say anything.

And Tony realized that this was the first time in months they had been alone together.

He hated that he was waiting for Peter to scream and run away.

“Do you want a ride back home?” Tony asked, already planning out what to do when Peter said no.

“Okay,”

* * *

 

He was in the car with Tony Stark. He was in the car with Tony Stark and he was...taking him back to May. He wasn't going to hurt him.

He did his breathing exercises, but that weight on his chest felt like a ton now.

His eyes wandered to Tony Stark, waiting for him to do something to say something, even to just look at him with that horrible look.

But Tony Stark just kept his eyes on the road on drove.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He just...

He wanted his name back.

Halfway to the apartment, he spoke up.

“I didn’t hurt Aunt May,”

Tony Stark glanced at him, then back to the road. “No, you didn’t. Because you’re good,”

Another few minutes of silence passed.

The weight kept pressing on him. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest. There were words on the tip of his tongue that he was scared to say out loud.

But the car stopped at a red light and the words quietly spilled from his lips. "I'm Peter Parker,"

Tony turned to look at him. And he was smiling. "Hey there, Peter,"

The weight was gone from his chest. Peter could breathe again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well??? I'd love to hear your thoughts because this was just such an important thing and I hope I did it justice. But we are nearing the end and there are still loose ends that need to be tied up so I'm not exactly sure how many chapters are left in this thing...it's definitely a lot longer than I imagined it! But thank you all who have read this story and for all the wonderful comments. And I really, really hope you readers especially enjoyed this chapter!! Hugs to you all!!!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here I am after an unexpected mini hiatus...sorry my dear reader! Things came up with work and family and then I got sick and attempted writing this chapter, but somehow Superman made an appearance in my drug-induced cold state? Anyways, things are back to normal with me at least and chapters will again be more regular!
> 
> And I hope you enjoy this chapter as always!! Leave your thoughts for me!

May scrambled up from her chair at the first knock on the door. She opened it to Tony and Peter, pulling the latter into a hug. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the tears of relief.

“You can _not_ do that to me. Please, not again,” she whispered, brushing her hand through his hair.

Peter tucked his head into her chest. “M’sorry,”

May held him for a moment longer before pulling back a little to look him over, making sure he didn’t come back with some kind of injury.

Peter shifted a little under her scrutiny. “I’m tired. Can I go to bed?”

“All right,” May pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I love you, honey,”

“I love you too,”

She watched as he walked away, but he stopped after only taking three steps. He turned around and May followed his gaze towards Tony.

“Good night, Mr. Stark,” Peter said slowly, as if considering how each word felt after he spoke them.

Without pause, Tony responded. “Good night, Peter,”

Peter didn’t move. May held her breath, waiting for a negative reaction.

But Peter titled his head in consideration of Tony’s words. Then he gave a small nod and made his way towards the bathroom.

Once the bathroom door clicked shut, May turned to Tony with wide eyes. Questions swarmed her brain, but she had no idea where to start.

Tony just shrugged with a smug grin and sincere relief in his eyes. “He took his name back,”

The tears that had built up earlier returned and May fought hard to keep them back. “And he…he wasn’t panicking with you around and…what the hell happened?”

Tony explained, still standing in the doorway. May was too distracted to remember to invite him in for a seat and Tony seemed distracted as well. Because after all this time, Peter was finally breaking through the trauma and Tony was no longer considered a threat.

May couldn’t begin to imagine the relief Tony must feel.

“I should get going. Don’t want to push my luck,” Tony mumbled as soon as they heard the water from the shower turn off. He shifted a little in the doorway and May realized the always confident Tony Stark had no idea what to do about Peter.

Especially now that he was finally coming around.

May closed the front door after Tony left as Peter stepped out of the bathroom in a fresh pair of pajamas. May watched him for a moment and he didn’t seem to notice as he headed for his bedroom. Peter stopped right at the entrance.

For the second time that night, May held her breath.

Waiting for Peter to cross that threshold.

He clenched his fists and was whispering something to himself. Then he took a step back with a few heavy breaths and trudged into the living room.

May looked away before he caught her watching. Peter already had two big breakthroughs tonight. It was okay if he still left some things for later.

* * *

 

Tony didn’t go back to the compound. He went for his loft that was just a few blocks away from Stark Tower and much closer to the Parker residence than all the way upstate. By the time he was walking inside, he had his phone to his ear, waiting for Pepper to answer.

It was a good thing Pepper was out on the West coast and it was only eleven for her instead of four. Tony spewed to her the emotions he kept bottled up when Peter looked at him that night and didn’t run away. How he called himself _Peter_!

The kid was a fighter and Tony would be damned if he gave up on him.

An hour later, they were still on the phone, Pepper having said only a few words while Tony continued gushing. “Shit, I gave him the suit back already. Do you think I can take it back to add in some more upgrades I just thought of? Imagine this: acid webs. Obviously going to have to warm him not to shoot it at people, but he’s smart, he’ll know better and…wait, I’ll just bring him over to the workshop and we can work on it together. Just like…”

_Just like old times._

Who was he kidding? Peter was _maybe_ halfway through his road to recovery. He hadn’t even managed to go back into his bedroom or spend time in the kitchen.

_“Tony, he’s getting better. Peter’s made so much progress,”_

Tony tuned the rest of Pepper’s speech out. It was the same thing Dr. Winslow always told him. While he didn’t doubt it at all, especially after tonight’s events, Tony was an impatient man. He wanted Peter to make more progress faster.

But like Dr. Winslow always told him, Peter needed to go at his own pace.

At least now Tony could actually get near him and start building up the trust Yvonne had destroyed. In the meantime though, he was going to have to work harder at keeping himself occupied.

* * *

Dr. Winslow came over the next day, even though it was a Saturday and she normally didn’t come on the weekends.

Peter was sure May told her what happened last night.

But when Dr. Winslow asked if anything interesting happened, he still told her.

Once he finished his story, Dr. Winslow smiled. “I’m really proud of you, Peter,”

He didn’t even flinch when she said his name.

After seeing her smile though, Peter noticed something. It was a different smile than all the other times. It was proud smile. And after she left, he kept bringing up the image of that proud smile. Then he noticed May had been giving him similar smiles all day. And last night, when he was in the car with Mr. Stark, he gave him the same proud smile too.

Peter liked the proud smiles people were giving him. He wanted more.

“Peter, you want to come eat lunch in the kitchen?”

On instinct, Peter shook his head. He looked at May and could see the disappointment. He didn’t like that. Knowing she was disappointed in him for not wanting to sit in the kitchen where the memories of that video still came up every time he had to walk past it or…

May sat next to him on the couch, bringing the take-out boxes with her and handing him one. “So what are we watching today?”

Peter just had the TV on. He wasn’t actually paying any attention to whatever show or movie was playing.

A mid-afternoon talk show was playing. One that was hosted by a doctor. They ate in silence except for the comments May threw in about the topics being ridiculous and no one in the medical profession should be recommending this.

Peter couldn’t focus on the TV. He only thought of how could make May give him a proud smile even more. And how he could replace the fake images of Tony’s scowl with ones of his proud smile.

“May?”

She hummed in response, tilting her head towards him, but her eyes still on the TV.

And Peter opened his mouth to ask if he could see Mr. Stark. Because maybe that would bring a proud smile from May and surely one from Mr. Stark too. But the words were stuck.

May turned her full attention to him. “Yes, Peter?”

“Can I see Ned and MJ?”

Oh. That wasn’t what he meant.

May smiled. A proud smile. Even though that’s not what Peter meant to ask.

“Of course, honey. Do you want me to text them or…?”

Peter shook his head. “I-I can do it,”

Another proud smile.

May gathered up their emptied take-out boxes and ruffled his hair a little as she stood up. “Just let me know when they’re coming over, okay?”

Maybe it would better if they came over instead anyways. Because Peter remembered from before that he never asked Mr. Stark if he could come over. That was always up to Mr. Stark to make the first move. And after last night, Mr. Stark had to know it was okay now. Peter was better and he was going to make it just like old times and he was going to make everyone proud of him.

Because he was Peter Parker.

* * *

 

Ned refrained from giving Peter a hug this time, but his mouth was still stretched wide in a smile. MJ hugged him, but a quick hug followed by a soft punch to his shoulder, demanding to know why Ned had already seen him and why was she not included in that meeting.

They brought over movies that had been released over the last year, to catch Peter up on the current meme culture. Ned was still a talker during movies and MJ switched between ignoring him completely in favor of her book to throwing popcorn at Ned and telling him ‘shut up, this is the best part of the movie.’

Peter sat in between them, the three squished together on the love seat instead of moving to the bigger couch. But Peter didn’t mind and Ned and MJ didn’t say anything because this was exactly what they did before. MJ sitting at an angle with her leg draped over Peter’s while his shoulder was resting on top of Ned’s

May walked past them a few times. Each time, Peter glanced up at her to see if she was smiling. And she was and Peter knew she was happy.

But then MJ went into the kitchen to replenish snacks and her hands were too full. “Peter, can you help me in the kitchen?”

Peter’s body went stiff and his mouth felt dry. Then his body was shifting as Ned jumped up, exclaiming he would help.

MJ looked confused, walking back into the living room behind Ned. Then her expression fell as she looked at Peter’s stiffened form with eyes closed and his chest rising up and down in deliberate attempts to keep his breathing steady.

She cleared her throat. “I’m moving to the big couch,”

Ned joined her and they sat on opposite ends, leaving the middle space open for Peter.

He opened his eyes after a few moments and let out a shaky breath. He wasn’t supposed to react like that. He was supposed to be better now.

But he got up and moved to join them on the big couch. Except this time, Peter kept himself small, making sure he wasn’t touching them and they weren’t touching him.

May walked past them half an hour later and Peter caught the small frown of concern on her face. He brought his shoulders up, curling a little more into himself.

Ned and MJ left once the current movie was over. May insisted they take a cab or get an uber home.

“You guys can come over again…if you want,” Peter said to them before they left.

They nodded and said they would make plans.

When they left, May went up to him and kissed the top of his head. “I’m going to bed, hun. You get some sleep too, yeah?”

Peter nodded.

May smiled. But it looked more like a sad smile. “Love you,”

“Love you, too,” he mumbled back.

He got ready for bed and just like the night before, he paused at the entrance to his bedroom.

He could do this. He could go in and sleep there tonight and May would see and she would be so happy and so proud.

And then he could see Yvonne standing over him. His web shooters fell from the nightstand as he scrambled for them. A rag pressed against his mouth. A sweet smell that made him want to gag.

The next thing he was aware of, he was lying on the couch, curled on his side and trying to forget that smell and the sound of May’s gasp.

* * *

 

_May 2_

_Mr. Stark hasn’t called yet. But it’s only been a few days. He’s always really busy. And I don’t want to annoy him. I would be annoying him if I called. Maybe he thinks I’m not ready. Because I’m supposed to be his intern, but we really work on his suit and my suit and sometimes stuff for Natasha or Cap or…_

_Maybe I’m not ready?_

 

_May 4_

_Ned came over today. Just Ned. We watched Star Wars. He asked if he could ask me about Spiderman. I didn’t answer him. Then he asked if I was almost done catching up in school. I told him I just needed Spanish. Matt said he was going to help me with it though_

_That’ll make it easier for Matt to be proud of me. When he helps me with Spanish and I understand it_  


_May 7_

_May talked to me about going back to work. She said she doesn’t have to, but asked what I thought. I told her if she wanted to, she could go back. I can take care of myself._

_I thought that would make her smile, but it didn’t. She just looked worried. I don’t know if she’s going back to work yet._

_Happy messaged me. Mr. Stark went away on a business trip._  


_May 8_

_I think Matt’s upset. I don’t think it’s with me though because when he came in and he heard May call me Peter, he smiled. I think he’s upset because of his job. His_ other _job._

_I’m halfway done with my Spanish work._

 

_May 10_

_Matt was supposed to come over again to help me with the rest of my Spanish, but he didn’t. He told May he got sick. I think he’s lying. I saw on the news that there’s been a crime wave in Hell’s Kitchen._

_MJ said she’ll help me with the Spanish. We’re going to meet tomorrow at a coffee shop._

_May’s going back to work tomorrow too._

 

_Cont._

_I think May asked MJ to watch me tomorrow…_

 

_May 14_

_The crime is getting worse in Hell’s Kitchen. What if Matt needs help?_

 

_May 16_

_I’m going to help Matt. And it’ll make Mr. Stark proud of me too. Everyone will be proud of me._

 

Peter closed his journal when he heard May come out of her room.

“Okay, I think I have everything,” she mumbled more to herself as she looked through her purse. “I’ll come back for my break and we can eat dinner together, deal?”

“Um, you don’t have to. I can…” Peter took a breath. “I can make something. Or order something,”

May pursed her lips. She still wasn’t completely used to leaving Peter alone for such a long period of time. And her first shift back happened to be the noon to eight shift. But she had to remind herself that Tony and the other Avengers were always keeping an eye on him somehow. “You sure?”

Peter nodded.

She cupped his chin and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “All right. I’ll be back later. Call me if anything happens, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,”

After another few moments of stalling, May finally left.

Peter kept busy, trying to work on Spanish, answering May's calls and messages, watching movies that Ned and MJ recommended. All things to keep him busy until the sun set.

He answered one last message from May before getting up and making his move.His palms were sweaty and he was sure he stood in front of his bedroom for at least fifteen minutes. But he had to do this. He had to make them proud. He had to show them things could go back to normal. That _he_ could be normal.

Peter took a step into his bedroom and felt his chest immediately tighten. But he kept walking and made it to his bed where the steel case laid.

He pushed aside phantom smells and tried to pretend he didn’t feel lightheaded. He popped open the case and stared at the suit for a moment.

The Spiderman suit.

It looked exactly the same from that uneventful night. A few muggings, some lost tourist, a couple of kids about to vandalize a car.

Yvonne standing over him. Fumbling for his webshooters. A rag pressed over his mouth.

“No!” Peter shouted in the quiet apartment. “I’m okay! I’m okay! I’m okay!”

His heart was racing and he needed to leave the room. But he still stripped down to his boxers, yanked the suit on, and climbed out onto the fire escape.

Once outside, he felt like he could breathe again. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. Just like Dr. Winslow and May and everyone else told him.

He looked down at the mask in his hands. Would they be proud of him for what he was going to do?

Peter pulled the mask on.

_“Peter! Welcome back!”_ Karen’s voice buzzed in his ears, sounding as enthusiastic as she normally did. _“According to Mr. Stark’s logs, I did not expect you to wear the suit for some time still,”_

Peter smiled at the familiar voice of the AI. “I…I’m better now. I’m back to normal. I’m _Peter_ ,”

_“Heart rate level is increased and scans show it was much higher moments ago from the result of a mild anxiety attack. Dialing-“_

“No, no, no, no! Don’t call anyone!” Peter let out a huff. “I can do this. I _have_ to do this Karen,”

_“But your mental state is-“_

“No, Karen! I’m fine! I’m doing this!”

The AI was silent for a moment.

_“Where to then, Peter?”_

* * *

To say Matt was having a bad day was an understatement. No, it was closer to having a bad month really. With Fisk in jail, there was a war on the territory. Matt thought he had it under control, with his connections at the precinct and then as Daredevil. So he took off more time to spend with Peter, make sure he was recovering well and offering his assistance whenever he could.

And as soon as he eased up, the criminals found out and decided to increase their violence. So much so that Matt had to end up cutting back his time with Peter. Partly to take care of this rise in violence, but also because he didn’t want to answer the inevitable questions from May as to why the blind lawyer was sporting a black eye or a sprained wrist or whatever injury he walked home with.

Once he was patrolling the streets, the violence increased even more, as if in protest to his presence. But Matt went after them, trying to find the source of this violence and he knew he was close.

The only reason why he knew this was because the attackers were becoming more skilled and vicious and if Matt slipped up for even a second, he knew it could cost him his life.

The ninja he was attempting to hold off at the moment had to be the worst one yet.

At least it was only one.

Matt heard a few soft thuds, then light feet running. He ducked, narrowly avoiding a punch and a flying dagger.

Great. The ninja had friends.

Throughout it all, Matt kept his breath even and his movements measured. Duck, kick, swipe, dodge, kick, duck. There were six of them now, but he had taken two of them out.

Things could not make this bad day any worse.

Then, there was the sound of a grate falling from an air vent, followed by quick breaths, feet pattering on the metal pipes above, and an all too familiar _thwip_.

Matt Murdock, lawyer and defender of Hell’s Kitchen, who always chose his words carefully and considered every sentence, spoke too soon.

“What are you doing here?!” Matt yelled over the webbed ninja crying out in Mandarin.

“I-I can help!” Metal shaking as Peter jumped from one pipe to another. Then a few more _thwips_.

But he was out of practice and Matt could hear how his foot almost didn’t land on the pipe correctly and how his webs weren’t even grazing the ninjas.

It must’ve been a miracle Peter was able to pin one of the ninjas down with his webs when he first crawled in.

Matt dodged a punch. “Get out of here! I’ve got this handled!”

_Thwip_. “No, I can do this!”

A knife flew through the air. An unsteady jump sounded off the pipes.

Matt was becoming increasingly distracted. But he still managed to knock out another ninja. Only two left.

He continued focusing on Peter, listening for the missteps, his heavy breathing, the small gasps as he almost fell or a knife was thrown too close for comfort. “You’re out of practice! Get out!”

Unsteady feet landed on the ground in what Matt could only assume was an imperfect jump. There were more _thiwps_ as Peter actively engaged the ninja that had been throwing knives at him.

A kick from the ninja Mat was fighting knocked backwards onto the floor. At the same time he heard a shout of pain and could smell the blood instantly. He wasn’t able to get any words out as the ninja straddled Matt and began choking him.

Matt squirmed, fingers pulling at the hands around his neck as his lungs screamed for air. He listened for Peter’s heart, beating too fast and his breathes sounding labored. But then everything started to sound muffled as if he were underwater and the pressure on his throat grew.

He thought he heard the drawstring from a bow and the arrow flying through the air. But then his senses dulled completely as consciousness left him.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, things are now officially set up again and stuff it about to happen and I'm honestly not sure if I'm ready to write the stuff and I hope you readers are ready for it because it's coming and it's happening and I am extremely excited to write it all even if my heart isn't prepared for it!!!
> 
> But enough about the future chapters, I hope you enjoy this one!! Thank you always to everyone who leaves comments and for all the kudos-givers and those who have stuck around this long!! You lovelies are greatly appreciated and I can't believe I've reached this amount of kudos, much less this amount of views?? Seriously, I am so honored you dears keep up with this. So yeah, enjoy this chapter and leave your thoughts!!!
> 
> TW: blood, knife wounds

When dealing with kids, Clint’s philosophy was always to only intervene _after_ it was clear there was no way they could handle what they had gotten themselves into. This was always how he handled his own kids, even if his wife thought sometimes he could intervene a little bit sooner to avoid medical bills and unexpected home repairs.

If she could only see him now, looking in the warehouse from a perch, as Peter tripped, a knife sticking out from his thigh and Daredevil being strangled to death. Oh yeah, he’d definitely hear it from her if she saw him.

“Guess this is as good as any time to intervene,” he mumbled to himself as he pulled back the drawstring of his bow and shot an arrow at the ninja towering over Peter, then another at the one strangling Daredevil.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Most likely Tony demanding to know what was going on. The majority of the team were out on the West Coast right now. Clint chose to sit this one out meaning he was also tasked with keeping an eye on the Parker residence. Especially while May was out. Nothing interesting ever happened and he usually ended up laying on the edge of the roof across the alley from their apartment, catching up on memes so his kids would always think he was a cool dad.

But tonight was different because Peter came out of the apartment while May was at work. Dressed as Spiderman no less.

He sent a quick text to Tony, knowing the suit AI had probably already notified him, and followed Peter from a safe distance.

It wasn't a joyride or a regular patrol. The kid had a destination. Which just so happened to be Hell's Kitchen. Clint wasn't sure, but Peter found a warehouse where Daredevil was fighting off ninjas, which Clint could not understand where they came from. But he stayed back as Peter joined the fight, ignoring the barrage of phone calls and messages from Tony.

The two arrows he shot hit their target, electrocuting both ninjas and knocking them out. Peter's chest was heaving, but he wasn't in mortal danger. Clint let out heavy sigh as he realized Daredevil wasn’t moving after the ninja collapsed. “Not how I imagined my night going,”

He landed with a small roll into the warehouse and ignored his protesting knees as he ran to Daredevil. “Come on, man. It wasn’t even a full minute you were being strangled,” Clint said as he gave him a small slap to the face.

Nothing.

He could hear Peter’s heavy breathing and knew the kid was on the verge of hyperventilating. But Clint didn’t even look at him as he started CPR on Daredevil. First, get him breathing again, then he could worry about Peter later.

Daredevil finally sucked in air and immediately went to grab Clint’s throat. “Hey, I just saved your life. Show a little respect,” he said, blocking his hands.

Daredevil’s chest heaved, letting his hands fall as he caught his breath. “The kid…” he breathed out, his voice hoarse by the bruised windpipes. “Is he-?”

“An idiot? Yes,” Clint said as he got up to check on Peter. “Kid, you all right?” he asked, kneeling down in front of Peter in what he hoped was viewed as non-threatening pose.

Peter’s masked face whipped up to look at Clint. “I-I-I…”

Definitely hyperventilating.

“Okay, it’s fine. Just take deep breaths. Deep breaths. I need to get that knife out of you, okay?”

Peter nodded, despite his uneven breathing.

Clint pulled the knife out quickly, drawing out an agonized groan from Peter. He looked at the serrated blade covered in Peter’s blood. It had gone in so deep. Even with his healing, Peter was going to need stitches.

“The compound’s too far,” Daredevil said, clearing his throat as he came up behind Clint and tossed him a piece of cloth he had torn off one of the ninja. “I know someone who can help, just a few blocks away,”

Clint wrapped the cloth around Peter’s leg, noticing how his eyes were staring at the blood-soaked knife. He wasn’t hyperventilating anymore, but his breathing was still too fast and Clint wasn’t sure if it was from the pain. He tied the cloth, drawing Peter’s eyes away from the knife. He stood, pulling Peter up and letting him lean on him to take pressure off his leg. “Lead the way, Mr. Devil,”

* * *

Claire was already waiting for them by the time they made it to the roof. Peter saw her body stiffen as soon as she saw it wasn’t just Matt. Then her jaw clenched when she saw it was Peter that needed the medical attention.

He remembered the words she spoke to Matt in what she thought was out of Peter’s ear-shot the night he first met them.

 _“What the hell are you thinking Matt?! Bringing a_ child _into this? No, I don't want to hear whatever story or explanation you have. He's a_ child _. I don’t ever want to see him again under these kind of circumstances,”_

Her eyes darted towards Matt for just a moment and Peter knew he had gotten him in trouble.

He definitely blew it.

Clint helped him sit down on chair Claire most likely brought up with her. “What have we got?” she asked, going into her professional mode.

“Knife wound with a serrated blade. Guessing it’s at least two inches deep,” Clint answered.

A flash of recognition appeared in Claire’s eyes as Clint spoke, but she kept her professional demeanor and with a costumed kid bleeding in front of her. “All right, I’m going to need to take off your suit,” she said, pulling on sterile gloves and untying the makeshift bandage.

Peter loosened the suit and let it slide off, down to where the wound was on his leg. Immediately, his skin prickled with goosebumps. He closed his eyes and he was brought back to that room. The cold room and he had no sweater because it was a privilege and he lost it and Yvonne-

Pressure on the wound brought him back, his eyes flying open with a small gasp. Claire had given Clint a pair of gloves as well and he was holding his hands down on the wound to stem the bleeding while she prepped to clean it and stitch it up.

And it was more blood than Peter was expecting. Clint’s hands were covered in it and then he could hear May gasping and there was so much blood, so much blood, so much blood.

He couldn’t breathe. The mask was too restrictive.

He yanked it off, gasping for air and staring at the blood that was everywhere.

Then hands were on his face and pulling his gaze towards Matt’s horned mask. “Look at me, you’re all right. It’s a small wound that just so happens to be bleeding a lot. You’re here and you’re safe,”

Matt’s voice sounded different. Weird. As if he was sick. Peter closed his eyes and remembered one of the ninjas tried choking Matt. He almost killed him. If it hadn’t been for Clint…

No…if it hadn’t been for _Peter_ , none of this would be happening. “I…” Peter opened his eyes and hated that he could feel tears in them. “I just wanted to help,”

Matt pursed his lips. He didn't respond.

Peter looked down. He ruined everything.

* * *

When May stepped out of the hospital after her shift, she was texting Peter to see if maybe he wanted to split a pint of ice cream with her.

But halfway through, she looked up and saw Happy leaning against a car.

Her heart sunk and she faltered in her steps. “Happy?” she asked, remembering to pick up her feet and keep walking. “What is it? Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, um, well, I mean…” Happy looked down a little, grumbling something under his breath, before looking back up. “Tony got a call from Clint and a notification from Karen-“

“Karen as in the AI in Peter’s suit?”

Happy nodded.

Her heart sunk even further.

“Peter took the suit out. Clint followed him all the way out to Hell’s Kitchen and we heard back about ten minutes ago that they’re going to the compound,”

May took several deep breaths. “Is he okay? Why are they going to the compound?”

Happy looked around, not comfortable with having this conversation in the open. And May understood, but she also wanted answer now. “Clint didn’t say, but I’m sure Peter’s fine,”

May shook her head, climbing into the car. Happy didn’t try making conversation. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to or not.

She couldn’t stop thinking about what could’ve possibly gotten into Peter’s head that he was ready to go out as Spiderman. He couldn't even walk into the kitchen or his bedroom without being set off! But what if this was her fault? She should’ve never gone back to work. It was obviously too soon and this was now the second time that Peter took off while she was out and how could she leave him alone again?

“Where’s Tony?” May asked when she couldn’t stand her swirling thoughts any longer.

“Business trip turned Avenger’s mission. Took longer than he thought it would, but he’s on his way back. Might even get to the compound before us,”

May pursed her lips. She figured that was all the details Happy could share with her.

They rode in silence the rest of the way, May’s feelings changing from worry to anger to disappointment to sadness to worry. She just needed to see Peter and make sure he was all right. Because she was beginning to dwell on the past and all the things she should’ve done differently and that was a dangerous path to go down.

* * *

Matt didn’t come with them to the compound. Peter really wanted him to, but as soon as Claire finished stitching him up, she turned to Matt and said she needed to speak with him.

Matt obviously didn’t want to have the conversation and Clint shifted, already knowing this was going to be uncomfortable if they stayed any longer. So Clint asked Claire if she had any clothes she could lend Peter. She left, saying he was small enough to fit into some of her sweats and she was sure she had an over-sized sweater somewhere.

While they waited, Peter kept his head down. Matt was angry at him. Or at the very least disappointed. He was sure of it. He should’ve listened when Matt told him to leave, that he was out of practice. Matt had even told him months ago, when they first met, not to go into Hell’s Kitchen. It was too rough, too dangerous. And he was too young, too under-prepared.

Especially now.

His belief of Matt’s anger towards him was cemented in the fact that Matt didn’t even talk to him. He had a quiet conversation with Clint. Peter was too tired to try and listen, but he was sure they were talking about Claire seeing his face and could she keep his identity a secret.

Claire came back up with the clothes. “I told him this last time, but now I’m telling you too," she dropped the clothes in his lap. "I don’t _ever_ want to see you here again. Maybe when you’re older, but hopefully you’ll grow out of this gig before you get to their age,”

Peter didn’t say anything. But he could hear _if you get to their age_ hanging in the air.

He followed Clint into the apartment building, down the stairs, and onto the street where Clint hailed a cab. The driver gave a quick look at Clint’s gear, but didn’t say anything.

At the compound, Clint left the driver a nice tip as a thank you for his silence. He led Peter inside and took him to the Medbay where Dr. Wu did a quick check and said he could take out the stitches tomorrow considering Peter's healing and that the wound was already significantly better..

He left the room after asking Peter a few questions and making sure he was all right. Clint stayed in the room. Peter wasn’t sure if it was because he had nothing else to do or his job at the moment was to keep an eye on him.

Clint didn’t say much, choosing to scroll through his phone. Peter was glad. He wasn’t sure what he would even say to Clint in the first place.

But that meant Peter could think of all the ways he had been a complete failure tonight. He was supposed to prove himself tonight. Show them all that he was better, that he could this, that he was back to normal. They were all supposed to be proud of him and May wouldn’t worry every time she left for work and he could help Matt out some and Mr. Stark would invite him back over to work in the lab.

None of that was ever going to happen now, was it?

The door swung open after a while and Peter involuntarily curled into himself a little.

It was Tony.

He wasn’t snarling like in those fabricated images. But Peter felt as if the look on his face was just as bad. It was the same look he had when that ferry incident happened. Peter yelling at him, thinking it was just the suit, until it opened and Tony walked out, a quiet anger and disappointment on his face.

That was exactly the expression on his face right now.

“What happened? Why is he here in Medbay?” Tony asked Clint, but not taking his eyes off of Peter.

Clint got up and stood between him and Peter. It was ridiculous, but Peter didn’t realize he was holding his breath until Clint stood between them.

“He’s fine. Just a little scratch. You should see the other guys,”

Peter could see Tony clenching his fists. He was angry. He was so angry and maybe he wasn’t going to kill him, but he was angry at him.

“You saw what happened?”

Clint nodded. “Yeah, I was watching him the entire time. He took care of himself for being out of practice. Thought they actually had it handled before the end there,”

“ _They_?”

“Hell’s Devil was there too. Don't start thinking he invited him out there either. He kept yelling at the kid to get out, but he held his ground and fought,”

Peter had hardly interacted with Clint before everything happened, but now he was wishing he had.

Tony tilted his head and squinted his eyes at Clint for a moment. “So if I’m understanding you correctly, you were just _watching_ him while he fought? Even though he hasn’t been out on the field in over eight months, you decided to _watch_ him instead?” Tony’s voice was getting agitated by the second.

It was as if Peter wasn’t in the room anymore. He clenched the armrests on his chair and couldn’t help thinking how unfair this all was. They were starting to argue over whether he was ready to be out on the field or not. And while they argued, Peter could only think of how it felt when he was out there swinging from building to building on his way to Hell’s Kitchen.

He was terrified and he forgot how fresh the air could feel while swinging and he thought his heart might leap out of his chest and there were a few times when he almost slipped, missed a building or a pole to swing off of. But then the adrenaline kicked in and he shot a web to catch himself and even if he stumbled a few times, he was swinging and there were a few shouts from the ground of ‘it’s Spidey!’ ‘did you see Spiderman?!’ ‘go Spiderman!’

Words were starting to bubble in Peter’s throat, but before they could come out, the door opened again.

It was May this time and she looked like a mixture of worry and anger.

He did that. Peter did that to her.

Whatever words were forming in his throat, dissipated as soon as he saw her. As did Tony and Clint’s argument.

“Peter! Oh my God, you’re okay,” she said as she bent down and pulled him into a hug. “What were you _thinking_?!” she exclaimed as she pulled away almost as soon as she embraced him. “We haven’t even talking about you putting the suit back on and what if something worse had happened or what if Yvonne…”

The words died on her tongue and the room went still.

And Peter was tired of this. He was tired of not being able to go into his own bedroom or the kitchen. He couldn’t have normal conversations anymore and he freaked out with blood and seeing doves made him shiver and sometimes he was so cold he felt like he back in that room waiting for a shock if he even sniffled. And he missed going to school and seeing his friends on a regular basis and May not freaking out if he left and Matt’s training sessions and being _the friendly neighborhood Spiderman._

Yvonne took all of that away from him and he wanted it back. She wasn’t ever going to come back for him and he prayed he would never see her again because he wasn’t sure what he would do if he ever saw her again, but he still wanted his life back and he refused to let her stand in the way anymore.

He just wanted to make everyone proud of him again because was Peter Parker and he wanted his life back!

And it was still quiet in the room and Peter noticed the three adults staring at him and he was standing up now and…

Had he said all of that out loud?

“Peter…” May said softly, almost with a hint of sadness. “Of course we’re proud of you, honey. But things take time and it’s okay if you aren’t ready to go out as Spiderman. No one would blame you,”

“But I want to be ready. I _need_ to be,”

Tony clapped his hands once and rubbed them together. Peter hated that he jumped a little at the sound, but no one mentioned it. “All right, then let’s go,”

Peter swallowed hard. “Go where?”

“You want to be ready. Well, you can’t be with a damaged suit. Come on, let’s go to the workshop and fix it,”

Peter fought the urge to hesitate, but he still found himself looking to May, as if asking for permission.

She gave a small nod with a smile and hopeful pride in her eyes.

Peter took a deep breath and followed after Tony with a small limp.

* * *

She stood in the doorway, watching him as he slept in his drug-induced sleep. He was here. She finally had him. Her little dove. He wouldn’t recognize her when he woke up, but what if this time he did? Then she would know for sure it really was him.

But she was prepared if he didn’t recognize her.

Now, she would have to clean off the blood from her hands since she was done smearing it on his clothes and his hands. It was late, but she still had work to do. And they were in a new and unfamiliar place. It was going to be hard to make sure he remembered that he was her little dove, but she would make sure he did.

For a moment she thought that maybe she should invest in some fire extinguishers. Her little dove had a much different ability than the others before and it could cause much more damage. But she shook her head. He wouldn't do something like that. Not once he understood who he really was. And she had ways to make sure he did understand.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter because certain things needed to fit in to this one...
> 
> Thank you always for kudos and comments and I'd love to hear what you think of this new chapter!

The sun was coming up by the time Matt finally made it back to his apartment. He could feel the warm rays peeking in through his windows. He peeled off the suit, wincing as he jostled his bruised ribs from Clint’s CPR and the other various injuries he sustained during the night.

He sent Karen a quick voice message, claiming he had come down with a cold. His hoarse voice helped his case. Matt closed his eyes and thought he would immediately fall asleep after the night he had…

But his mind had other plans.

The fight with those ninjas. Peter showing up. The blood in the air. Recklessly fighting to make sure Peter was safe. Almost dying.

Stick would be so ashamed.

That wasn’t including the talk Claire had with him afterwards.

_“Didn’t I tell you I never wanted to see him again?” she said as soon as Clint and Peter were gone._

_“I know, I-“_

_“No, you don’t get to talk. He is a child that should not be brought into your battles. If that blade had gone in any deeper, he could’ve bled out before you made it here,”_

_Matt wasn't sure if she was exaggerating, but he didn't want to test her patience. “I already warned him to stay away and I thought…”_

_Claire was silent and he could feel her fuming thoughts. “It’s the same kid, isn’t it? The one that Stark was looking for. The one that was kidnapped last year,”_

_Matt didn’t have to respond. He knew in her voice that she already knew that answer._

_“Oh my God, you were covering for him too, weren’t you?!” Her tone wasn’t as accusing as it was teasing. And the teasing was barely there considering the subject._

_“I’ll talk to him and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” At least not until he was a legal adult. Because if Peter was out swinging around town already, then Matt didn’t think anything could possibly make him hang up his webs._

_Claire was quiet. Matt knew she wasn’t done, but he was already thinking about what his next move needed to be. He needed to find out who sent those ninjas. Maybe one of them was still unconscious at the warehouse..._

_“He isn’t going to stop, is he?" Claire finally said, reiterating Matt’s previous thoughts. A wry laugh left her lips. “You heroes are all the same,”_

_“I was training him before. After that first meeting,” Matt shook his head. He remembered how angry he had been when he found out that Spiderman had encroached on an investigation and nearly ruined it. Then that anger grew when he found out that it was a kid that had gotten himself into more than he could handle. But hearing Peter's pleading voice that very first time after Matt had knocked out those men. Those pleas changing into awe when he realized Daredevil had just rescued him. His rapid fire questions and comments and apologies even though he had a huge gash on both arms and seemed to be wavering on the edge of a concussion._

_He had decided then and there that he was going to make sure this kid knew how to defend himself better._

_“Are you going to keep training him?”_

_The question pulled Matt out of his thoughts. He didn’t want to answer. He didn’t want Peter throwing himself into anymore dangerous situations. After everything that happened to him with Yvonne, Matt couldn’t understand why he still wanted to go out and fight._

_Of course, here he was, a blind man, injured and facing death on a daily basis, with no plans of giving this up._

_“You didn’t see it, but it looked like the kid just wanted to make you proud. If he isn’t going to stop, then you need to help him and sure he doesn’t get himself killed,”_

Matt hated it when Claire was right. And while Peter might have the Avengers and all their gear and training, Peter hadn’t gone to them to learn. He looked to Matt for help.

And if his first move as Spiderman post-Yvonne was to go to Hell’s Kitchen, then he was still looking to Matt for help.

But he was exhausted and this could wait until after Matt slept for at least three hours.

* * *

They were only in the workshop for maybe an hour. Just a quick stitch, rewiring things, and running a quick update on Karen. But the entire time, Tony had to remind himself that this wasn’t going to be the same. Peter was different and no matter how much everyone, Peter included, wanted him to be how he was before, it wasn’t likely to happen.

At least not yet, thought the hopeful side of Tony.

For now though, the constant reminders were necessary considering Peter spent half the time ten feet away from Tony. The other half they were closer, working almost side by side as Tony explained something about the suit or rattled on about an upgrade or a new design. And Peter would listen, never actually looking up at Tony, but he was listening. He worked on the suit and Tony watched, seeing his hands run over it with the tools and type things into the computer. It was like muscle memory for Peter.

Then he would look up at Tony for a moment, his eyes glassy and Tony had to make sure not to make any sudden movements as Peter’s mind replayed a memory that was at war with the present. Those were the moments when Peter would move back to ten feet away.

A couple minutes later, Peter would start inching his way back to Tony and the cycle would continue.

There were more things Tony wanted to work on, but it was past midnight and he was sure May wanted to go home already.

“All right, Petey,” Tony said, leaning back in his chair. God, he missed calling him that. “Time for you to go back home,”

Normally, Peter would’ve begun protesting. Claiming there was more work on the suit he needed to do or he was just struck by a random spark of inspiration and had to develop a new web before the inspiration left or it was too late to even go home anyways, might as well stick around and work through until the morning.

But the new normal kicked in and Peter got up and gathered his things. “Th-thanks Mr. Stark,” he mumbled before covering a yawn.

Tony followed behind at a small distance, noticing his limp was significantly lessened and he was sure by the morning his wound would only be a scar. They went to the common area, where May had been waiting and spending her time talking with Clint and Happy. Clint for the most part, filled May in on everything that happened and assured her that she was still doing a good job at being Peter's guardian.

She stood up as soon as the two walked in. “Peter, you ready to go home?”

Peter nodded, covering another yawn.

“I’ll give you a ride,” Happy said, getting up and walking out for the garage.

“He did good. Remembered how to fix his own suit pretty well,” Tony threw in, stuffing his hands into the pockets of sweats. “Anytime you want to come work on the suit or some new tech, you’re allowed to message me. Got it?”

Peter nodded, looking at Tony this time. No glassy look in his eyes. Well, if you didn’t count the glassy look that came from him almost falling asleep on his feet

Tony clenched his fist in his pocket to hold himself back from giving Peter a pat on the shoulder. “Rest up and let your leg heal,”

“I’ll give you a call later,” May said, nodding goodnight to both Tony and Clint.

Tony didn’t move, watching as May lead Peter down the hall to where they would be meeting up with Happy outside.

Clint got up and stood next to Tony. “So did you activate the Training Wheels protocol again?”

Tony scoffed. “I should’ve, but…that’s not what he needs. I need him to know that I trust him,” So that Peter's trust of Tony could continue to build.

Besides, Peter was trying to move on. Dr. Winslow was there to make sure he did so in a healthy way, but this was definitely his own step towards that.

So maybe it was time for Tony to move on too. To put away the implant they took out of Peter. The files and research he had complied on Yvonne Blakewell. The videos they had of her compared to the recordings she altered. The alert Tony put on his phone that notified him anytime a male minor around Peter's age went missing in New York.

Tony left Clint, mumbling something to the archer about getting some rest and screening Steve’s calls for the next week since he left in the middle of the mission with no explanation. He went back down to the workshop and opened the drawer full of the dismantled camera pieces and the implant he had stuffed in when Peter wasn’t looking.

He worked on it when he had a chance, understanding that Yvonne had a mutation, but still trying to figure out exactly _how_ she made it work. And the research he had on her still didn’t provide much information. Five months since getting Peter back and they still had no lead on wherever she might be.

Tony stared at the drawer. It was time to move on. Drop these items off at a police station, share everything he could about Yvonne without revealing too much about Peter’s secret identity, and _move on_.

A screen popped up in front of him. A picture of a kid he had never seen before. Mouth cracked into a wide smile, bringing his cheeks up and making his eyes squint so much they almost looked closed, straight black hair styled to the side in a haircut that Tony had thought wasn't popular anymore.

“Boss, another minor has gone missing in the Harl-“

Tony waved the image away. “No, Friday. That’s the third kid this week. You know as well as I do, he’s most likely going to end up being a runaway or some kid that just wants to play a prank,”

“But this one might be different,”

Tony pursed his lips. That was always the thought that ran through his mind every time Friday presented him with one of these alerts. What if it was different? What if this was another kid taken by her? What if this was finally the chance they needed to catch her?

But this would always be the case. And Peter was trying to move on and maybe Tony couldn’t let go of certain things, but he could try and this might be the best place to start.

“The police can handle this one, Fri,” Tony said. He took a deep breath and tried not to feel as if he was making a huge mistake, that their chances of catching Yvonne would disappear as soon as he did this. “Turn off all alerts for any minors that go missing in New York,”

“Alerts successfully turned off,” Friday said after a few moments.

An odd weight settled in Tony’s chest. He didn’t like it, but it had to be done. He had taken a step, just like Peter.

He closed the drawer, still leaving the tech there. He at least started the process. He could keep working on moving on later.

* * *

May looked down at the cup of oatmeal. One of the few things she could manage make. Just a little warm milk and then mix it all together. Thank God for instant oatmeal though because she would have no idea how to season the plain stuff.

Oatmeal was usually saved for the winter months, when it was snowing or cloudy outside and she wanted to feel extra warm and cozy before having to officially start her day. But it was also one of the few things she could make and eat quietly. Which was exactly what she needed as Peter was still asleep on the couch, despite the sun streaming in from the window and hitting his face.

Peter was exhausted after last night. He was falling asleep during the car ride home and May had to practically drag him up the stairs to their apartment. May half expected him to go to his room out of habit and exhaustion. But he collapsed on the couch instead and was softly snoring as soon as his head hit the pillow.

May was tired too. Yet the entire night she slept maybe one, two hours at the most. She hadn’t had a night like this since Peter was first taken. Those first few horrible weeks when they had absolutely nothing and she didn’t even know if he was alive.

But he was here and just as the clouds began changing to a sunrise pink and the traffic was picking up with morning commuters, May walked out of her bedroom, made herself some oatmeal, and sat in the kitchen, listening to his soft snores.

For that moment, she could pretend things were different. He was sleeping on the couch because they had binged something on Netflix. Popcorn all over the floor and homework forgotten on the kitchen table. There was no rush for him to get up. It was a Saturday and he was a teenager with only school as a responsibility. When he would wake up, he would grab a bowl of cereal, change, and leave to meet up with Ned at a park or an arcade.

Yvonne didn’t exist. Tony Stark and the Avengers weren’t a part of their lives. That radioactive spider bit someone else’s child.

May should’ve never signed that permission slip for the Oscorp field trip.

Peter twitched in his sleep. His breathing picked up. He shifted on the couch, letting a blanket fall to the ground. There was a soft moan, then a gasp as he shot up, eyes wide and unfocused as he looked around.

May set down her cup of oatmeal. A nightmare. Of course he would have one after the night he had. “Hey Peter, you with me?”

It took him a few moments, but his gaze landed on her. His eyes focused and his chest stopped rising so quickly with panicked breaths. He rubbed his eyes, taking deep breaths and stretching out. “Morning May,”

“Oatmeal or waffles?”

He shrugged in response, getting up to use the restroom and brush his teeth.

May let out a huff of air, opting for the easier option of sticking frozen waffles in the toaster. She was pouring syrup on them by the time Peter came back out of the restroom and settled on the couch again.

She took her cup of oatmeal and the plate of waffles and joined him on the couch. Peter was poking at his waffles. But May couldn’t exactly tell him to stop playing with his food and eat. Because she was poking at her oatmeal too. Every bite seemed too hard to swallow or the taste too bitter.

They had to talk. But May had no idea how to start.

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered after they had sat in silence for almost half an hour, their breakfast cold.

May took a deep breath, partly grateful Peter spoke up first. “Baby, I understand why you did it, but…” she shook her head and set the oatmeal down on the coffee table. “You _can not_ take off like that again. And I know, _I know_ I didn’t have you always reporting to me before when you were leaving or what your plans were after school and you were a responsible and independent kid and I could trust you, even after I found out about Spiderman, but…God, no, I’m not saying you’re not those things anymore. I still trust you. You’re good and responsible-“

“I get it,” Peter said softly, interrupting her. “Things are different now,”

May pursed her lips. Peter was staring down at his waffles. She reached out and brushed her hand through his curls. “Things are different now,” she repeated. She started thinking of all the rules and boundaries and lists that he was going to need to follow to make sure he was safe and not pushing himself and that May’s worries could stay at a minimum.

And for the first time since everything happened, May wondered if maybe she needed to have a few sessions with Dr. Winslow for herself.

May grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, pulling his gaze towards her. “Things won’t be like this forever. We just have to take it one day at a time,”

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Matt found himself standing outside the Parker’s apartment. He considered turning back, to deal with this another day, when he felt more in tune with his emotions. But he could hear May bustling about and it sounded like she was getting ready to go somewhere and the TV was on, playing The Twilight Zone reruns.

He was at their door. It was too late to turn back now.

He knocked and a few seconds later, May opened the door.

“Oh, Matt. I wasn’t expecting you,” May said in a tired, but cheery voice.

He could only imagine the kind of night she had.

Matt cleared his throat. It didn’t sound as hoarse after the sleep he had, but if you listened carefully you could still pick up a small trace of it. “Yeah, just thought I’d stop by and check on Peter. Um…Mr. Stark told me something happened last night,”

May blew out a sigh. “Yeah, we had…quite the night. Peter, Matt’s here!” she called out for him to hear over the TV. “I was just on my way to the store actually, but you’re welcome to stay. I think Peter still has some Spanish homework he still needs to work on,”

“I’ll see if we can’t knock that all out today,” Matt said as he took a few steps inside.

“Great. I’ll be back in a little bit,” May grabbed her wallet and a sweater, patted herself down to make sure she had everything and at the door, she paused. “Um, Peter mentioned something last night,” she said much softer than before. Most likely to avoid being overheard by Peter.

Matt leaned forward, knowing there was no way Peter was not _not_ going to hear this conversation. “Yes?”

“He said you were training him,” May took a breath. “He didn’t say what it was you were training him in, but…how exactly did you two meet in the first place?”

Matt gave her an easy smile. “I helped him out of a small scrape. Got caught speaking to a man who only spoke Spanish and he was too nice to tell him he was still learning it in school. I started tutoring him for a month, then…well, you know,” Matt wasn’t at all disturbed by how easily the lie came to him.

“Right…” May said with a hint of suspicion. “Well, he said he’s ready to train with you in Spanish again. Odd choice of words though…”

Another reassuring smile from Matt. “I’ll make sure he’s fluent in no time,”

May called out a quick goodbye to Peter, then was out the door.

Matt could hear Peter’s nervous heartbeat. He made his way into the living room and before he could even sit down, Peter blurted out, “It was an accident, I swear! I didn’t say you were Daredevil or anything, I just…I said you were training me and it was an accident and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,”

“Hey, it’s all right,” Matt said, taking a seat on the other end of the couch. “Even if your aunt did find out, I don’t think it would be the end of the world. I’m sure she has half of the Avengers numbers saved in her favorites list and her nephew is Spiderman,”

Peter let out a deep breath and his heart beat relaxed a little.

“How’s your leg?” Matt asked.

“Fine,” Peter said in a much calmer voice.

It didn’t seem like Peter was going broach the subject. Meaning it was all up to Matt. “I’m sure you’ve heard from a lot of people within the last twenty-four hours, but last night? That can _not_ happen again,”

He could hear Peter shrinking into himself. “I know,” he whispered.

“Hell’s Kitchen has always and _will always_ be off limits to you, understand?” Matt said, his voice more stern than usual.

But he had to make sure the message was getting through to Peter.

“It’s dangerous there. Much more than all the other places in this city. It’s easy to make enemies there and you’re too young to be on any gangs hit list. Maybe after you’ve had more experience and training, but not now. The only time you’re allowed in Hell’s Kitchen is during our weekly training sessions,”

“You mean…you’ll still train me?”

Matt shrugged. “May said you brought it up last night. You already put on the suit, I don’t see why not,” Except of course for the fact that Matt didn’t think he was ready, but the kid was stubborn, and Claire was right. Peter wasn’t going to give this up.

“Just make sure it’s all clear with May and Stark. And I will check to make sure you let them know. Deal?”

“Deal,”

Matt could hear Peter’s face muscles twitch up into a small smile. “But remember, your aunt thinks I'm training you in Spanish so, go ahead and pull out the rest of your Spanish homework. Maybe we can get that all done and you’ll officially be done with this year of high school,”

* * *

Hell’s Kitchen was off limits. As were bank robberies, hostage situations, high speed car chases, drug busts, and basically anything that involved guns or heavy machinery.

Which didn’t necessarily leave much and the normal Peter would’ve fought and argued and claimed he handled worse before. But the _new_ normal Peter just nodded his head and agreed to the terms. Even if there was a part of him that did want to argue and say he could handle it.

But then he remembered how terrified he had been when he went to Hell’s Kitchen and put himself in the middle of Matt’s fight with those ninjas. The only reason why he hadn’t crawled out of there was out of sheer adrenaline and stubbornness.

Once a week, he was training with Matt, even if May thought they were working on Spanish. But Tony knew and now that the two men were on the same page, Matt provided progress reports to Tony. Those reports were brought up in the weekly meetings Tony had with Peter, but never to critique him or his progress. The conversations always revolved around his suit and what could be changed or added based on the reports from Matt.

And even though Peter wasn’t spewing words a mile a minute whenever he was with Tony, he wasn’t flinching anymore when Tony moved without warning or backing away every few minutes. He worked closer and closer to Tony until one day his elbow brushed against Tony’s and it didn’t even seem like Peter registered it. Tony did of course and he considered it a small victory.

Little by little, they pulled boundaries back just a little. Interrupting knife fights were permissible. Vehicles that weren’t braking for oncoming traffic could be stopped back with webs. Convenience store robberies could be thwarted provided it was only one person committing the crime and a cop or security guard was close by.

Every half hour, he had to text May where he was and what he had done. Two weeks of that and it changed to once an hour. Another two weeks later and it was Karen that could send the notifications every hour.

His heart didn’t feel like it was going to jump out of his chest anymore as he swung through the city. A few times, he did see someone, a woman with gray hair or the wrong pair of glasses or just the right shade of dyed blonde hair, and the air was sucked out of him and he had to stop on a roof and listen as Karen’s voice coaxed him through breathing.

Those were the days he went home early.

It was the end of June now and school had ended just a few weeks ago. Ned and MJ stopped by the apartment more regularly and soon Peter was actually leaving the apartment on his own to meet them somewhere. An exhibit in the park, or at a museum during their free admission hours. Once, he even ended up in Central Park with just MJ and they were walking really close and their hands were constantly brushing against each other and Peter felt his breath leave him. But not because he was having an anxiety attack.

They didn’t talk much that day. But it was okay. Because more often than not, Peter found it hard to actually talk. Not with the physical action itself, but finding a conversation and keeping it going. Sure, he enjoyed talking about science and theories and the new lego set he and Ned were working on. But he just didn’t talk as much. And maybe this was part of the new normal Peter

It was the official first day of summer and it was hot and even with the cooling system he and Tony had installed in the suit, Peter was still sweating as he swung around the city. He would much rather be sweating and hot than freezing though.

The sun had gone down an hour ago and it was almost time for him to head back home for curfew. Peter was ready to go home. It had been another full day for him, hanging out with May in the morning then going to the movies with Ned and meeting up with MJ for a late lunch, training with Matt for an hour after that and patrolling for the rest of the evening. A kid let go of a balloon just as Peter swinging by. He caught it and handed it back to him and the kid convinced his dad to buy Peter a hot dog in return.

It was a good day. Peter smiled to himself as he kept swinging. He was having more of those lately.

And just before he decided to call it a day, he heard several firetrucks a few blocks away.

“Karen, what’s going on?” Peter asked, already changing his direction to follow after them.

“A house exploded in Harlem,”

“Send May a message. Tell her I’m just going to make sure no one’s inside then I’ll let the fire department deal with it,” No one ever told Peter fires were off limits.

Perhaps they should have.


	26. Chapter 26

May needed today to be a good day. It was the first official day of summer and things had been going wrong all day. It had the potential to be a good day. Which it should’ve been because they were having so many more of those lately. Much more than she ever would’ve thought possible.

It started out wonderfully. Breakfast with Peter in the morning as they watched _Family Feud_. He was laughing more, even if they were quiet chuckles. But it made her smile knowing none of it was forced.

Then Peter had to get ready to leave to go out with Ned and May needed to run a quick errand at the bank. Except upon arrival, there was only one bank teller open with four other people already in line. This wouldn’t normally be such a bad thing, but the customer that was being attended to decided now was the time to pick a fight for something that May was sure was the customer’s fault and not the bank. It didn’t help that the bank teller was new and not only didn’t know how to handle unruly customers, but had was having issues with the computer.

What should’ve only taken ten minutes turned into thirty and by the time May finally finished, there was a traffic jam right down the street, meaning taking the bus or hailing a cab or Uber could possibly take another thirty minutes.

Instead of sitting in traffic for thirty minutes, May decided to walk the thirty minutes home. It was a lot hotter than May thought it would be and by the time she came home, her neck was dripping with sweat and she cursed herself for the rookie mistake of leaving home without a hair tie.

Peter was long gone by the time May came back. She walked into the kitchen, grabbing a cup and pressing it to the ice dispenser on the fridge. A screeching and grinding noise made her wince as no ice came out. She knew the day was coming when the ice dispenser would finally give out and of course, it had to happen today.

She moved to the sink to grab some filtered water and noticed a broken mug in the sink.

Peter.

He was trying to be in the kitchen again. Which was great and she encouraged the progress. But he always tried when she wasn’t home and it usually involved him washing dishes. She wasn’t entirely sure what would happen, but she guessed his mind couldn’t handle it and in the middle of washing the dishes, something would snap and he would drop the dish and retreat.

This was the fourth broken dish. May was considering investing in plastic dishes.

A glance at the time on the stove sent her in a rush. She needed to get ready for work or she was going to be late.

Out of all the places, work seemed to be the only place where everything was going right. No rude patients, no loved ones or families that brought in outside drama, and someone had even brought in red velvet cookies to the break room.

May needed that peace. Because halfway through her shift, Peter would always text her and say he was going out on patrol for a while. And she had to keep her hands and mind busy and in a positive state or else she would be tempted to reply ‘not tonight, Peter.’ She knew he wouldn’t argue. He would head home the moment he received the text.

But she had done it once to him before and when she came home that time, she saw that glassy look in his eyes. There was a broken plate in the sink, the TV was on louder than normal, and his journal was open on his lap but he hadn’t written a word. He flinched when she kissed the top of his head in greeting, then gave his head a little shake and offered her a wobbly smile.

May went out and bought him his favorite sandwich from Delmar’s and swore she would never ask him to not go on patrol again. No matter how hard it was for her.

An hour before her shift was over, she got another text from Peter. She thought it might be him reporting back that he finished paroling and made it home safely. But instead, he said there was an explosion in Harlem and he was going to do a quick check to make sure no one was inside before going back home.

She responded back with ‘be careful’ and a kissing emoji, then pocketed her phone and got back to work, ignoring an icy feeling creeping into her gut.

The last hour went quickly and May walked home, checking her phone and frowning as she realized she hadn’t missed a text or call from Peter. He didn’t say he made it home. But maybe Peter just swung by, perched on a roof and let his suit do its detecting, came up with nothing, and headed straight home. Peter was fine and he was safe at home.

Besides, she would’ve received an alert from his suit and Tony if anything went wrong.

But the iciness in her gut grew and caught on her heart and she might have walked home faster than usual.

“Peter, I’m home,” May called out as soon as she walked into the apartment.

It was quiet. Too quiet if Peter really was here.

“Peter? Honey, are you here?”

Nothing.

May refused to panic. Maybe he was asleep in his bedroom. He finally crossed that threshold and was asleep in his bed for the first time since Yvonne forced herself into their lives. And she never received any notification from his suit or Tony.

She knocked on his closed bedroom door before cracking it open a little. Then she swung it wide open when she saw it was empty. He wasn’t here. Peter hadn’t made it back from patrol.

She scrolled through his messages, making sure she didn’t miss something. Maybe they extended his curfew. Maybe he was out with Ned or MJ. Maybe he just lost track of time and was still out patrolling.

And before she could check the app Tony designed specifically for her to track his suit, her phone began ringing.

It was Tony.

Her mouth went dry as she answered on the second ring. “Tony? Please tell me everything’s fine,”

_“Hey there, May,”_ His voice was light, but May had spent enough time around the man to know when he was masking his panic. And he was currently masking his panic. _“Yeah, everything’s fine. Peter’s fine. He’s right in front of me actually. But, um…well, we kind of have a situation,”_

* * *

Tony Stark had many shitty days in his lifetime. You live long enough and those kind of days are bound to start piling up. But those days always revolved around some kind of big, disastrous event. His parents being killed. Being kidnapped in Afghanistan. The chitauri invasion. The accords and the Bucky incident. And there were more, but Tony didn’t like thinking about them all.

And today, he considered a completely _shitty_ day even though there was no singular event that made it so.

It had the makings of a good day. Pepper was back from a business conference and wasn’t leaving again for another week. He woke up to her beautiful eyes staring at him. She smiled and leaned towards him to give him a quick good morning kiss. He wanted to hold her there for a moment longer, but then she quickly turned the other way, leaned over the side of the bed, and threw up all over the floor.

And while Tony’s first thought was morning sickness and she was pregnant and he was going to be a dad, a quick scan from Friday revealed she had a stomach bug and was advised to stay quarantined for twenty-four hours. Friday also advised Tony to actually take his vitamins today and drink a cup of lemon and ginger tea.

Tony tried not to complain. Pepper was still here for a full week. That was still more time they had spent together consecutively in several months. And everything else in his life seemed to be moving in a good direction. Things couldn’t be better with SI, he just finished developing an upgrade for Rhodey’s legs and was actually going to try it out today, Peter was on frequent patrols, Matt’s reports on Peter’s training had more positive comments than not, and Dr. Winslow was even leaving for a week to a conference because Peter could handle it.

Things were going good.

But when Rhodey came down to try out the new upgrades, something jammed and he couldn’t bend his left knee at all. The gears began smoking just the tiniest bit and Dum-E showed up out of nowhere with a fire extinguisher in hand. Tony didn’t even get a chance to shout his protest before the robot sprayed the two men down.

Tony swore he was going to dismantle the robot the next chance he got and would remove all fire extinguishers from the building. But then both Friday and Rhodey reminded him of fire safety and the building needing to be up to code. He ignored them and added those two items to his to-do list.

Then he received the progress report from Matt. It wasn’t _bad_ , but it wasn’t good either. Peter was still too eager to please. And while the kid was always like that, it grew to an almost dangerous degree which placed him in danger that first night he went out as Spiderman to Hell’s Kitchen. Dr. Winslow was working on it with him and Tony thought they were making progress to get that back to a reasonable level.

According to Matt though, today had not been a good day. They would have to wait and see if Peter had somehow taken a few steps backwards in his healing. And in the meantime, there was nothing Tony could do about it. No suit modification or gadget. He just had to wait and let Peter work it out.

He began working on some SI tech he was developing, keeping a screen open to Peter’s location. He was patrolling and almost constantly moving. There was a moment when he stopped for longer than five minutes. Tony lifted his head and focused on the little spider blip on the map. Heart rate was fine, no injuries. He asked Friday to open the video feed.

Peter was sitting on a roof, eating a hot dog.

Tony smiled and shut off the feed, wanting to respect Peter’s privacy. He continued his own work and had no real breakthrough. He was growing frustrated with the tech that just wasn’t doing what he wanted it to do.

“Boss, Peter is currently five minutes out past his curfew,”

Tony lifted his head to look at the map. The spider blip was still up, unmoving in a neighborhood in Harlem. “Pull up CCTV footage of the area,”

Another screen appeared. And in the top corner of the video, Tony could see a house on fire. “Is Spidey anywhere in the shot?” Tony asked, squinting his eyes in search of him.

Friday responded by zooming in on him, perched on a building in the bottom of the screen. “The fire department has just arrived on scene.

“Great. Send him a message and tell him he’s past curfew and to get his spidey butt back home,”

And as soon as he spoke, Peter swung across the street and straight into the burning building.

Tony’s heart leaped into his throat. “Friday, what’s going on?”

“Peter has sights on someone trapped inside. He is currently working on pulling them out,”

“Video feed, _now_ ,”

A third screen came up with Peter’s point of view. Except something was wrong with the camera. Yes, Peter had just jumped into a fire, but Tony knew his tech was strong enough to withstand a fire. The video was glitching and there was too much static.

Something was very wrong.

“Call Peter,”

“Calling Peter Parker…call failed,”

Tony leaned forward as Peter began walking towards a figure that was trapped under a burning beam.

And before Tony could have Friday try calling again, the video feed cut out and the spider blip disappeared.

“Fri, what the hell happened?!”

“I’m sorry, boss. There seems to have been some sort of malfunction with Peter’s suit,”

“No, no, no, no. My tech does not malfunction! Get that feed back online and pull up his current location!”

“That information is unavailable. Peter’s suit is currently offline,”

Tony clenched his jaw. He refused to believe Peter was in any real kind of danger. But he wasn’t going to sit around and wait to make sure he wasn’t.

“Send his last location to my suit. I’m going out there right now,”

And as soon as the Iron Man suit enclosed around him, Tony shot off, giving no notification to anyone. He flew as fast as he could to the burning house. Halfway through his flight, the news stations began showing up to do live reports. Not one of them mentioned Spiderman coming out and rescuing a trapped person.

In fact, they were reporting that the house was empty and the fire fighters had it under control.

Tony urged his suit to go faster.

He arrived on scene within fifteen minutes. But he hovered in the air, away from the commotion to not bring any attention to himself.

The fire was under control and his own scans showed no one inside the house. Exactly what the news was reporting. And when he pulled up the CCTV’s in the surrounding area, there wasn’t any sign of Peter.

“Friday, scan the area for Peter’s heat signature. He has to be here in the area,” Tony said as he flew over the neighborhood, circling to allow Friday to scan. He didn’t notice how strained his voice was or how fast his heart was beating.

“Found. Heat signature matching Peter’s build in this alley,” The screen lit up and zoomed in to where Friday was talking about.

It wasn’t confirmed that it was Peter, but who else could it be? Tony didn’t understand why the kid was hiding behind a dumpster out of sight from all security cameras.

He lowered down into the alley and let the suit disassemble from him. And he could make out a bare foot sticking out from behind the dumpster. “Peter? Kid, is that you?” Tony called out as he jogged towards him.

The foot immediately pulled back behind the dumpster, but a few seconds later, Tony was standing in front of him.

And just as he realized it wasn’t Peter, Tony ducked as a flame was thrown at him. “Whoa! Hey! You’re all right! I’m a good guy, I’m not going to hurt you!” Tony exclaimed as he held up his hands and took several steps back.

He looked down at the kid hiding behind the dumpster. His right hand was extended and a ball of flame rested in his palm. His clothes were burned through with holes and smoke radiating off his skin.

But it was his eyes that held Tony’s attention. Those wide brown eyes filled with fear, like a cornered animal. And they looked so much like Peter’s when they got him back from Yvonne, but that wasn’t the only thing familiar about him. No, his entire face was familiar and Tony was sure he had seen him from somewhere…

_Shit._

He was the same kid from the last missing person report he received before turning off that notification. The one with the huge smile that made his eyes disappear and straight black hair that had long since grown out of that styled hair cut.

“Please,” the kid whimpered. “Please, _please_ don’t tell her. She’s…she’s going to be so angry and I…no, I didn’t. I didn’t hurt Mom. She’s still alive. She had to be and Dad he’s…no, no, no, no, no…”

Tony felt sick.

This could not be happening.

This could _not be happening._

“Hey, it’s all right,” Tony said, trying to keep his voice steady. He crouched down and took little steps towards him. “You’re safe. Why don’t you put that fireball away and we can talk?”

He looked down at his hand, his eyes widening even more, as if not realizing what he was even doing. The fire disappeared and he brought his clenched fists to his chest. “No, no, no, I promise I can be good! That was…that was an accident! I know it’s bad and it’s bad, it’s bad, it’s-“

“Okay, shh, shh. You’re all right kid. How about you tell me your name and what happened? Were you a part of that house that exploded a few blocks away?”

He shut his eyes and pulled at his hair. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I just…she was _hurting_ me and I…I’m not Richard, I’m not Richard, I’m not Richard!” Then his eyes shot open and he lunged at Tony, catching the older man off guard and wrapping his fingers around his shirt. “I didn’t kill Mom! I promise you! I promise Dad, I didn’t kill her! I wouldn’t do that to Mom!”

And every instinct in Tony was telling him to move. To find Peter. To find him because he was about to lose him all over again and who knows if they would ever get him back this time.

“I know,” Tony said, cupping the face of this kid he didn’t even know. “I know you didn’t kill your mom and I’m sure you love her so much and your dad too. I bet they’re both proud of you and are worried about you and just want to have you back home, safe and sound,”

He stared up at Tony and must have seen something in him that he could trust. Because the next thing that happened was that he crumpled and began crying into his chest.

Tony rubbed the kid’s back for a few moments, before grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back. “Listen, I have a friend that’s in big danger right now and I think you can help me,” Tony wondered how much information he could get from those wide puppy eyes. This kid was too young and had seen too much already. Just like Peter.

“The woman who took you, where is she? Did you see her go anywhere with someone after you escaped?”

The kid tensed in his grip and Tony knew he wasn’t going to get any information from him. But he had to try because he had no other leads.

But then he nodded.

“You saw her? Where is she? Was she with anyone?” Tony asked, resisting the urge to shake him.

And he said the words Tony did not want to hear. “Spiderman…he had her…he took her that way,” he pointed up towards the building behind him.

Tony had a direction. Perfect. But he couldn’t leave him here alone.

“Okay, good, that’s great. You did great, kid. Now, I’m going to take you to the police-“

“No! I didn’t kill Mom!”

“No, I know you didn’t! But I need to go find the woman that hurt you. Because she’s hurt a lot of other people and my friend is in danger. I _have_ to find her. So I’m going to leave you with the police and you tell them that her name is Yvonne Blakewell. They’ll know what to do, okay?”

“…promise?”

Christ, this kid was young.

“Promise,”

He swallowed hard, put on a brave face, and nodded.

Tony was going to have to get his name later and pass it on to that professor with a school for the 'gifted.’

The drop off was quick. Tony suited up and carried him to the police that were gathered at the burning house. And even though the kid tensed at seeing the house, he could hear him mumbling under his breath defiantly, ‘I’m not Richard. I’m not Richard,’

Tony knew everyone was watching him as soon as he landed at the scene. The cameras were turned to him, the reporters were saying, ‘breaking development in the Harlem fire,’ and the police were staring at him, sputtering for words.

But he just dropped off the kid before taking off again. He vaguely heard him announce Yvonne’s name to the police and knew the kid did his part.

Now, to find Peter.

He followed the direction the kid told him Spiderman went. Friday scanned the buildings and picked up a trail of webs. He sped up, ignoring Friday’s warnings that his heart rate was too high and he needed to calm down.

How could the AI expect him to calm down in this moment?

His scanner finally picked up Peter on a rooftop fifteen blocks away from the house fire. And he was with someone else.

Yvonne Blakewell.

Tony knew he had to proceed with caution. But Yvonne had Peter again. And Tony could see her talking to him, poisoning his mind all over again.

He wanted to blast Yvonne right then and there. Because that’s what she deserved, for all the pain she caused them and countless other families. Except something was very wrong and Peter had his arms extended, pointing something at her with shaking hands.

He landed on the roof, several feet away from them. Yvonne saw him first, and Tony saw her eyes flash. Then his suit disassembled, but he didn’t notice that it happened without his command. His focus was on Peter only.

“Peter!” he called out, stumbling a few feet towards them.

Peter spun around, his eyes wide as his mask lay on the ground beside him. Tony stopped, holding his hands up for the second time that night. Peter’s eyes were filled with that same fear from when they finally found him in the hospital. The same fear that took him months to get over whenever Tony's name was even mentioned and kept them from being in the same room.

Tony swallowed hard as he saw what Peter had in his hands.

A gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...well, the long-awaited chapter...Comments please???


	27. Chapter 27

Sometimes the world felt like a dream. When he twisted his wrist at just the right angle. A gust of wind covered his skin with goosebumps. A shock in his fingertips as he touched a metal shopping cart. And he would blink and blink and blink again and wait for the world around him to dissolve. This dream world that he was stuck in.

He would never wake up. Or maybe he was awake and everything around him was real. Everything was good again and nothing hurt and he would always get a hug and a kiss in the morning from Aunt May and hear laughter from his friends and it was so warm and bright now.

Dr. Winslow asked him once why he thought it was a dream.

His response was to shrug.

She paused and held his eyes. He looked down after a few moments. He hated it when she did that. Waiting for him to answer. Leaving that silence there that begged to be filled.

“Could there be something that makes you want this to all be a dream?”

He shot his eyes back up at her at the question. “W-what? No, I…” he shook his head. Why would she ask him something like that?

“It’s okay. I know you haven’t had to do this in a while, but you can write your answer down instead,” Dr. Winslow tore out a sheet from her notepad and handed it to him with her pen. “I’m not saying you want this to be a dream, but instead, what makes you think this could all be a dream?”

She waited for him to write his answer.

He wasn’t sure then what his answer was. So that's exactly what he wrote. And Dr. Winslow never saw what he wrote down because he got to tear it up and throw it away and she moved on to talk about something else.

But if she asked him that question now, he could answer her.

It was because Yvonne was still out there.

She had left him in an alley. Cold, alone, dying. She had walked away. And he never saw her again.

Except, what if she hadn't? What if she came back for him? Put him back in his room and called him little dove. And all of this really was a dream.

A long dream from a fever she was nursing him through.

What if he was just between the living and the dead? What if all these months were a purgatory that determined whether or not he lived? Whether or not he _deserved_ to wake up from this dream?

That's what made him believe this was dream.

But at the same moment he came to this conclusion, Peter also knew that wasn't the case.

Because he was in a burning house in Harlem, smoke filling his lungs and the fire threatening to catch on to his suit, and the woman he freed from dying under a fallen beam was Yvonne.

Peter's mind went back, replaying everything over again. Seeing the fire and jumping into the building. Smoke immediately filling his lungs and Karen listing out dangers and telling him to let the fire department handle this and warnings popping up on his screen.

And then Peter saw a woman trapped under a beam and he ran towards her, dodging holes in the floor and other bits of fallen ceiling. With each step, Karen's voice came out garbled and the lights and display in his mask flickered. And as he finally reached the woman and began lifting the beam, Karen and all the other technology in his suit went out.

Peter didn't make the connection. The woman was trapped and he needed to lift the beam before she got hurt. He mumbled what he hoped were encouraging words to the woman. She was all right. Everything was going to be okay. He was going to get her out of here.

Once the beam was off of her, he reached down to grab her and he saw her face.

He took three steps back. He would’ve hit the wall behind him if it wasn’t for the flames that had already consumed it.

It was Yvonne. She was here. She was _here_ , alive, breathing, and staring at him with a look that would’ve preceded a shock through his whole body.

And this entire time, his life hadn't been a dream. It was all real. Yvonne had abandoned him. Left him for dead. May was alive. Tony didn't want to kill him.

Yvonne was moving, trying to get up and reaching for something that was tucked into her pants.

Peter didn’t move.

She didn’t give him permission to move.

"Hello?! Anyone in here?!" The firemen were coming in. Checking to make sure no one was inside the building.

Neither of them answered. The fire was growing and it was getting hard to breathe and she kept looking at him and his body was tense in anticipation of the shock.

It never came though and she still hadn’t stood up.

So Peter moved.

Without her permission.

He picked her up and held onto her with one arm as he jumped out the nearest window, out of sight from the first responders and all the neighbors that had come out to watch the house burn.

Peter swung and swung, listening to her cough and he was sure she had inhaled too much smoke and he couldn’t believe that she was _here_. She was here and he just pulled her out of a burning building and instead of leaving her with the police or an ambulance for medical attention, he kept swinging with Yvonne over his shoulders.

“Put…” she wheezed and coughed. “put me…down,”

He almost dropped her right then and there. That commanding voice that he could still hear in his thoughts and dreams.

Instead, he stopped at the nearest building and let her fall from his shoulder. He pulled off his mask, chest heaving and eyes wide as he stared at her.

She was lying on her side, soot covering her and the smell of smoke still so present. She curled into herself as she coughed and coughed and coughed.

Peter had never seen her this vulnerable.

Her arm was still reaching behind to grab something. He watched and waited and he wasn’t sure why he couldn’t move or react or do _something_. He felt like he was waiting for ages before Yvonne pulled her hand back and Peter saw what she had been reaching for.

A gun, tucked in the back of her pants. Her grip on the gun was so loose and she was still trying to catch her breath.

He wasn’t sure what drove him to it. He hated guns. He lost Uncle Ben to one and they caused to much destruction and he never wanted to hold on. But a web shot from his wrist, latched on to the gun, and he pulled it back, holding it in his own hands.

She looked at him, coughing still, but scowling. And Peter wasn’t sure how he managed to get the gun in both hands and pointed directly at her.

“Put it down,” she coughed out.

Peter felt his body tremble. But he shook his head.

“I said put it down!”

His grip on the gun tightened.

“You were always so defiant. Out of all the others...you were the most stubborn," she tried sitting up, but winced and returned to lying on her side. “I should’ve known you weren’t him,”

“I-I’m not… _not Richard,_ ”

“Of course not,” Yvonne coughed and Peter thought she might cough her lungs out. “You could never be him! Because you’re pathetic and weak and how could you ever be as loved as Richard was! My little dove!”

She coughed and in the back of his mind, Peter knew he shouldn’t have brought her here. But he had the gun and he couldn’t reach over to pick her up again and take her to the police.

“But Aunt May-“

“Don’t you remember how you hurt her?!”

The knife, her gasp, the blood-

“No! No, that wasn’t me!” Peter shouted, closing his eyes and pushing away the fake memory. "You-you did that! It was fake, it was fake, it wasn't..."

She laughed and it was such a horrible sound that he knew would forever be stuck in his mind. She coughed then took several deep breaths. It looked like she was having trouble breathing.

“You might not have killed her, but every time you go out dressed up like that, you’re killing a piece of her...Because you don’t understand that what you can do will push everyone away. They might say they love you, but the longer you keep this up only makes the pain grow and soon you’ll be all alone because you drove them away or killed them!”

He swallowed hard. She was…she was making sense...

No! He was different. Peter wouldn't do any of that. “But I’m different,” Except his voice was soft and gave away that he wasn’t sure of it.

More coughing from Yvonne. “Have you looked at the life of your _mentor_ ” she spat out the word. “Tony Stark. What has he done with his life? How...many people has he hurt because of what he does?”

His hands slowly lowered, the gun loosening in his grip.

“You have a good heart. I know you do. You don’t want to hurt anyone,” Yvonne wheezed a little. Then she looked at him with the same look she had when he first responded to being called Richard.

“Maybe...I did pick you for a reason. Maybe Richard is in you somewhere...he just needed some more time to come out. Come back with me,” she took a deep breath. "Come back with me and put this Peter away. Let Richard come out again. Forever this time. Come back,"

Back to that room. The cold room where everything hurt and it shocked him to touch the window and the door wide open. And he would never leave that room again…

Icy water seemed to sluggishly move down his spine. He straightened out his arms and tightened his grip on the gun again. “Aunt May,” he whispered. “Aunt May, that would…I would hurt her…”

“And it would be the last time you ever did,”

His ears were buzzing and his heartbeat pounded in his ears. The summer heat and the smoke he had inhaled and her words were making his head dizzy and he couldn’t think.

And something was wrong because now she wasn’t looking at him. Something was behind him and her eyes flashed and he held his breath, waiting for a shock, but there wasn’t anything.

“Peter!”

He spun around, the gun following him and aiming in a new direction. Aiming at Tony Stark.

He was aiming a gun at Tony Stark.

Peter couldn’t breathe. Tony would never forgive him for this. Never forgive him for pointing a gun at him, no matter how badly his hands were beginning to shake. And Yvonne was there, with her words and her flashing eyes and…what would Tony think?

He would be so disappointed.

Tony stepped forward and Peter took two steps back. Further from Tony and closer to Yvonne.

Tony stopped and held up his hands in that same way he did when Peter first came back. When he thought Tony wanted to kill him. When all Tony was trying to do was prove Peter could trust him again.

Yvonne said he would end up just like Tony. Alone and hurting everyone around him.

“Hey, it’s all right. It’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you,” Tony offered Peter a steady smile.

Yvonne coughed. “What did I tell you about him? One day he will hurt you. Because that’s what people like him do. People like _you,_ "

“No, you don’t get to talk!” Tony yelled.

Peter flinched.

Tony took another step back. “Peter, it’s okay. Look, just…we’ll call the police and you can come back home and this will all be over,” Tony pleaded.

“Home? You don’t have a home with them. Because you’ll hurt them all,”

Peter shut his eyes. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t _think_.

“No, Peter, you could never do that. You’re too good. You’d never hurt anyone,”

“You’ll hurt May one day. You will hurt her and if it doesn’t kill her, you’ll drive her away,”

“Don’t listen to her! You could never hurt May!”

“Stop!” Peter yelled, bringing his hands up to his head, one hand still gripping the gun. “Stop talking! I…It’s too…Just…I can’t _think_!”

“You don’t need to think. Just come with me and I’ll find Richard in you again,”

“You’ll hurt May if you go with her,”

Peter opened his eyes and looked at Tony, the gun lowering as he held it towards the ground now.

And Peter could see how scared Tony was.

Was he scared of him? Because he was still holding the gun and, for some reason, could just not let it go?

“Why don’t I call May, yeah? I’ll call her and you can talk to her and it’ll all be okay,”

Yvonne stared protesting, but her coughing interrupted her. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath anymore.

“You’ll call May?” Peter whispered.

Tony nodded. “Right now,” he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed May’s number on speaker.

May answered after the first ring. _“Tony? Please tell me everything’s fine,”_

Peter felt his heart beating erratically, skipping beats, going too fast, going too slow.

That was May. She was okay. Of course she was okay.

“Hey there, May,” Tony said, plastering on a smile, but the fear was still in his eyes. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Peter’s fine. He’s right in front of me actually. But, um…well, we kind of have a situation,”

_“What do you mean? Where are you? Let me talk to Peter,”_

Tony held out the phone. “You want to talk to her?”

Peter stared at the offered phone. He would have to take several steps to grab it. Several steps away from Yvonne.

He took one step forward.

“You’ll hurt her,” Yvonne wheezed.

Peter froze.

Tony said he would hurt May if he went back with Yvonne. And Yvonne said he would hurt May if he stayed with her, but if he went with her, it would just be one last time he hurt her.

Peter didn't want to hurt May at all. Why couldn't that be an option?

“Come on, Peter. Just a few more steps. You can grab the phone, just take a few more steps,”

_“Peter? Baby, what’s going on? Come home,”_

May wanted him home. Yvonne said he would hurt her, but May wanted him home. Did May know he could hurt her? That he most likely would hurt her one day? She sounded so scared and worried and was he hurting her right now?

“May?” Peter’s voice was soft, but the phone still picked it up.

May let out deep breath. _“Yeah, it’s me Peter. I need you to go with Tony and come back home. Come back home to me,"_

Peter moved to take another step forward.

But he couldn’t.

He looked down and saw Yvonne holding on to his ankle. She was holding him back. “No! I will not lose Richard again!”

_“Rich…oh my God, Tony! What’s going on?! Is that-“_

Peter saw Yvonne’s eyes flash at the same time May’s voice cut out. Yvonne yanked back his ankle bringing him to the ground.

He remembered the last time he fell and made sure he didn’t land on his wrists this time. The gun clattered to the ground, falling out of reach from both Peter and Yvonne.

And then she was on top of him, wrapping her hands around his throat. Peter gasped for air, clawing at her hands.

“You took Richard from me!” She yelled, squeezing tighter.

“No! Let him go!”

“Don’t you dare get near me, Stark, or I’ll snap his neck!”

Within seconds his vision was clouding and his dizziness multiplied. But he could think _clearly._

Clearly enough to know he did _not_ want to go with Yvonne. He was _not_ Richard and he never wanted her to call him ‘little dove’ again.

And maybe one day he would hurt the people he loved, but he would never push them away. Because May was waiting for him. Wanting him to come back _home_.

Tony was yelling and Yvonne was scowling down at him and he wanted to breathe and something finally snapped inside of him.

His hands curled around Yvonne’s and he squeezed as hard as he could. He felt a crunch under his hands and Yvonne’s scowl morphed to one of pain and her eyes flashed and flashed and flashed, but nothing happened.

Her hands fell limply from his throat and Peter took several lungfuls of air. He rolled away, pushing her off of him. And he happened to roll right up to the gun again and for the second time that night, he found himself holding the gun and pointing it at Yvonne.

“Peter, listen to me,” Tony called out, his voice getting closer and closer. “You don’t want to do this. Drop the gun okay?”

Peter stared down at Yvonne, her hands against her chest, bent at odd angles. He did that. He hurt her.

But she hurt him! All those months and the lies and the shocks and…

She made him believe he killed Aunt May.

She twisted his mind and made him believe he was someone else and that Aunt May was dead because of him.

“Peter, you can’t do this. I _know_ she hurt you and did horrible things to you and others, but…you can’t do this,”

Tony was standing next to him now. Peter could see him out of the corner of his eye. And Peter wasn’t sure if time slowed down or Tony was just moving so slowly, but his hand was reaching out until finally, Peter felt its weight on his shoulder.

And the weight grounded him and he looked down at the gun and Yvonne.

He dropped it, as if it burned him. Yvonne couldn’t grab it. Her hands were useless right now because of him and she couldn’t hurt him.

_She couldn’t hurt him._

“It’s over, Peter. It’s all over,”

Peter turned and looked at Tony. The older man looked tired and disheveled and faint traces of panic was still in his eyes. But relief was mingled in along with hope and…

Was that pride?

“It’s over,” Tony repeated.

And Peter thought that maybe he should’ve felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. But maybe he didn’t feel it because after all this time, the weight was slowly being chipped away, piece by piece, until this final moment when that last piece on his shoulders crumbled into dust.

But it was the final piece crumbling away that finally allowed him to do something he hadn’t done since this all began.

Peter let his head fall into Tony’s chest. And he cried. Wrapping his arms around his mentor, clutching his shirt, and he cried. Hiccuping and nose runny and tears never ending.

Tony held Peter close and kept whispering one phrase over and over. The phrase grounding him and reminding him that this was real. This wasn’t a dream. This was real and true.

_It’s finally over_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that I envisioned so many different endings for, but this is what I settled on and it just...feels right. Don't worry! There's still more to come! But as I'm sure you can tell, we are nearing the end of this crazy ride and it has been such an immense pleasure writing this story and sharing it with you all.
> 
> Thanks always for kudos/comments!! I'd especially love to hear your thoughts about this chapter!!! Much love to you lovely readers!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might be my longest chapter yet? But it had to be long and I hope everyone enjoys it! Mental health issues and the court system are mentioned. I did my best to research it all, but I'm sure there's things I got wrong. Hope it doesn't deter you lovely reader though
> 
> As always, enjoy and leave your thoughts!! <3

Natasha was on her way upstate when May called her. It was obvious she was fighting back hysteria, but she managed to get a few coherent thoughts out.

Peter and Tony.

Explosion in Harlem.

Yvonne.

Natasha swerved her car around and headed for Harlem, calming May and assuring her everything was under control. But if it wasn’t for Natasha’s training, May would’ve easily picked out the lie in her words. Because Peter, Yvonne, and Tony were all in the same place.

But Natasha was at least an hour away depending on traffic.

She spoke a few more reassuring words to May before ending the call for a new one.

“ _Hello?_ ” Steve spoke around a yawn.

What an old man, Natasha thought. But she could tease him about that later. “Are you home?”

_“Yeah. Everything all right?”_ Steve’s voice sounded more awake this time.

“I don’t have all the details, but a house exploded in Harlem and now Peter and Tony are somewhere with Yvonne,”

_“You mean…”_ Steve interrupted himself and Natasha could hear the rustling of clothes and a jangle of keys. _“On my way right now,”_

Natasha hung up and called May back. She was going to need someone to keep her sane while they waited for more details and hoped for the best.

* * *

On a normal night, it would’ve taken Steve maybe half an hour to get from his home in Brooklyn to Harlem.

But he didn’t have half an hour.

He weaved in and out of the traffic, pushing his motorcycle as fast as he dared to in the city. He was able to cut the time down by half, but so many things could’ve happened within fifteen minutes.

He followed the smoke billowing up in the air and came to the smoldering mess of a house. Lights were flashing from all the emergency response vehicles. Steve knew right away they weren’t here. There were too many other people around for them to be here.

Steve figured the next best place to look was on the surrounding roofs. Grateful he chose to throw on dark clothing, he left the scene before anyone noticed him. Once on the roof, Steve wasn’t sure what to do next.

He pulled out his phone and called Tony while squinting past the smoke. The call went straight to voicemail. Steve slipped his phone back into his pocket and tried not to let his frustration ruin his focus.

The smoke was beginning to sting his eyes, but Steve kept looking for something…

He saw something floating along with the wind just behind the house. It looked like a rope, but Steve had enough intuition to know it was a web.

It only took Steve moments to find the trail, jumping from roof to roof until he could finally make out three figures on a roof. Two were huddled close and the other was crumbled on the floor. Steve held his breath, pushing himself to go faster. He could easily call out to them, but he had no idea what kind of situation he was walking into. Calling out to them might turn it into something even worse.

His feet landed gently on to the opposite end of the roof and he could finally see who was were.

It was Tony and Peter that were huddled close, Peter actually sagging against Tony and Yvonne crumbled on the ground.

Looking at them, Steve felt something in him that told him everything was okay. Whatever could’ve happened _didn’t_.

Steve cleared his throat.

Tony tensed, spinning around and making sure to keep Peter behind him. “Cap?”

“Got a call. Thought you might need some backup, but…guess you had things under control,” Steven explained walking.

Tony placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder, as if he wasn’t ready to break contact with him yet. And he smiled at Peter in a way Steve hadn’t seen in a long time. “Yeah. Think we handled things pretty well. Right Petey?”

Peter gave a subtle nod and pressed himself into Tony side, wiping the back of his hand across his face.

Steve glanced behind Tony at Yvonne. She was unconscious, covered in soot and hands bent at unnatural angles.

Tony knew where his gaze landed without having to look behind him. His grip on Peter’s shoulder tightened just the slightest. “Peter-“

“Can you take me home?” Peter interrupted, looking up at the older man and wiping his nose with the back of his gloved hand.

“I’ll take care of it,” Steve said, before Tony could even think to ask.

Tony nodded, grabbing Peter’s mask from the ground and handing it back to him with a hand ruffling his hair.

Steve watched the pair walk down to the edge of the building, Peter wiping his face once more before pulling his mask on. Then Spiderman and Tony Stark climbed down the fire escape. Steve looked back to Yvonne. The woman who had caused so much damage.

But it seemed that not all the damage was permanent if the interaction Steve just witnessed was anything to go by.

Tony would most likely debrief them all on what happened. Right now though, Steve’s job was to take Yvonne to the police.

And the process of her finally facing the consequences for all the harm she did would finally begin.

* * *

May was grateful Natasha called her right back. She said that Steve was much closer and would find them. Other than that, Natasha didn’t say much else, listening as May spewed out her panicked thoughts and gently talking her through breathing when she sounded close to hyperventilating.

She had the TV on in the background, volume low on the news. They had shown a special segment about the explosion in Harlem, but said nothing about Spiderman or Tony Stark or anyone else.

And when May’s words ran out and she sat on the couch, phone pressed to her ear and eyes glued to the TV as they started going through the sports segment and the anchors laughing and joking as if May’s world wasn’t falling apart for millionth time.

Then Natasha’s breathing changed for half a moment.

Long enough for May to catch it.

“What is it?” she asked, standing up and beginning to pace.

_“Steve messaged me. He found them and they’re okay. Everything’s okay, May,”_

May closed her eyes in relief, feeling her knees beginning to grow weak. “Did he say anything else? Does he know what happened?”

_“No, but they’re headed your way. I’m sure Tony will explain everything. But he has Peter and they’re safe,”_

Safe. Peter’s _safe_. And he was coming back home with Tony. Tony was bringing him home.

Natasha offered to stay on the phone longer, just until they were officially standing in front of May in one piece. But it was okay. May felt like she could breathe normally and turn the TV off and not worry because Peter was safe.

Except five minutes after hanging up, they still weren’t there. May tried calling Tony’s number again, but it went straight to voicemail. And that horrible feeling crept into her stomach again.

What if they weren’t okay? What if something happened? What if Steve was mistaken? What if someone had grabbed his phone and sent Natasha a false message?

But those were dangerous thoughts to think while she was all alone.

She turned the TV back on, this time turning the volume up to reruns of some sitcom she had never seen. She got to work in the kitchen, washing dishes and trying to remember if she had all the ingredients for meatball soup. She organized and cleaned and purged and felt as if she had been at it all night.

When she finally allowed herself to look, only and hour had passed.

And they still weren’t back.

May paused in her cleaning, deciding to try Tony’s cell once more.

Straight to voicemail. Again.

She took several deep breaths and reminded herself that everything was fine. Why would Steve or Natasha lie about something like this? Everything was okay. She just needed to be patient a little bit longer.

And while she stared at the front door, willing the doorknob to turn or a knock to come from the other side of the door, she could hear the window in the living room squeaking open.

The window that was always open.

May spun around and saw Peter climbing in through the widened opening in full Spiderman suit and Tony crawling in after him.

Tony stretched and began muttering he was too old for that kind of stuff and he felt like a teenager sneaking in again and never again would he walk around New York with a suited up Peter Parker in tow. But May paid no attention. She ran up to Peter and pulled him into a tight hug.

Peter pulled his mask off and buried his face in her shoulder. She could smell the smoke on him and felt his shoulders quaking with tears. Then he lifted his head and May automatically cupped his face, wiping away tears with her thumbs.

“I came back, May. I’m home and I…I didn’t hurt you. I’m _home_ ,”

She could hear the weight of meaning in those words and kissed his forehead. “I love you, Peter,”

Peter let out a shaky breath and smiled back. “I love you too, May,”

May wanted to ask what happened, if he really was all right, where Yvonne was now. But Peter looked exhausted. “Why don’t you go to bed? Shower first because you stink,” she said with a teasing smile.

Peter wiped away any remaining tears and nodded. “Good night, May. Night, Mr. Stark,” he said right before yawning and going to the bathroom.

And once the door closed, May turned to Tony, feeling as if they had done this before. That night Peter left without telling her. But already this night was so much different. She held her breath and waited for Tony to explain.

They found Yvonne. Well, no, _Peter_ found her. By accident in that house fire. And he rescued her because he’s Peter Parker and he’s good. Yeah, there was a gun involved and Tony mentioned he felt like he aged a decade, but Peter didn’t kill Yvonne.

May noticed Tony refusing to say ‘Peter didn’t hurt her’ and while it made her heart ache at the thought, she also knew that woman had so much to pay for and whatever Peter did hadn’t been enough. Because there were other women, other _mothers_ , who lost a son because of _her_.

Steve had shown up when it was all over. He was the one that took Yvonne to the police so Tony and Peter didn’t have to deal with any of the questions.

It was sure to come either way though. There was going to be a trial and Peter would most likely be called to give a witness testimony.

And May’s breath caught in her throat as she considered the fact that Yvonne knew who Peter was. She knew about _Spiderman_.

“That won’t come up,” Tony said, giving her his most earnest look. “I swear to you, it won’t come up and it will not be an issue,”

May had more questions, but the words stopped as the bathroom door opened and Peter came out. Still exhausted, but clean. He mumbled a goodnight to them in their seats at the kitchen, then headed into his bedroom.

Walked in without thinking twice and closed the door behind him.

“Did you see that?” May whispered to Tony.

Tony’s face lit up. “Yeah. He’s going to be fine, May. Peter is going to be just fine,”

* * *

It was all over the news by the next day. Yvonne Blakewell was in police custody. The woman that kidnapped and attempted to murder Peter Parker, intern at StarkIndustries. She had also killed at least one other boy and kidnapped another from Harlem before finally being caught in an inexpiable house explosion in Harlem. There were rumors that Spiderman had actually saved her from the fire. But there was no proof and all the cameras in the surrounding area had gone black as soon the house exploded.

Whether or not that was true, Captain America was the one that brought her to the police. Unconscious and both hands broken. He said they were injuries sustained from the fire, but it didn’t add up. Except this was Captain America and she was now being labeled as a serial killer. No one asked too many questions.

Her guilt of these crimes weren’t disputed. But a trial was still required and the process of actually getting it to court was drawn out and her lawyer used every technicality to buy as much time as possible.

But it was a losing battle and the day she was finally brought into court made national news. Tony’s involvement was what gained all the attention and the public nearly lost itself when Yvonne came out of the police escort with a pair of specialized SI glasses. Everyone wanted to know what they were for and why she even had them in the first place.

It wasn’t for the public to know and only those directly involved knew it was only to make sure she didn’t use her ability to manipulate and damage technology to her advantage.

While her lawyer was good at his job, he knew she was guilty and was fighting to get her the lightest sentence possible trying to use the not guilty by reason of insanity plea. But the lawyer was up against Nelson and Murdock, a surprise to everyone expecting one of Tony’s lawyers.

Several witnesses were called to the stand. Old neighbors, her ex-husband, and others who had a close connection to her without even realizing it. But the last two witnesses would be the ones who would most likely sway the jury to give her a double life sentence with no chance at parole.

And they were the survivors of her brutality.

Peter Parker and the kid from Harlem, Jerome Tran.

Peter made it a point to not keep up with the trial. He wanted this to be over. To officially put this behind him and move on with his life. But in the day between Jerome’s testimony and Peter’s, he called Matt and asked him what happened.

_“You know I’m not legally allowed to say anything,”_ Matt had started as soon as Peter asked him. But before Peter could protest, Matt continued. _“He still has a lot of healing to go through and from what I understand, Tony’s actually paying for his sessions with Dr. Winslow. But he’s just like you. Loves his family and wants to do the right thing. He’ll get through this. Just like you did,”_

Peter knew Matt was just trying to make him feel better about having to give his testimony next. It didn’t help. He didn’t want to have to see her again. He didn’t want to have to look at her hands in casts or her eyes that he associated with pain hiding behind glasses.

And why did it have to be today of all days?

May fixed the collar of his shirt a little and brushed back a stray curl. She seemed to be just as nervous as him. “Just be as truthful as you can and remember that you’re safe and everything’s okay. Once this is done, we can put this all in the past,”

Peter clenched and unclenched his hands. He knew this would never stay completely in the past though.

May gave him an encouraging smile. “You’re sure you’ll be up for the party tonight? It’s all right if we push it back a couple of days and maybe you and me just go out for dinner for your birthday?”

Peter shook his head. He would not let this court date ruin his birthday today. “I’m okay, May. Promise,”

She brushed aside some lint from his shoulder that only she could see. “I know,” she whispered.

The door to the court room opened and Foggy poked his head out. “All right, Peter. We’re ready for you,”

Peter took a deep breath and reminded himself of four things.

May was alive.

Tony did not want to kill him.

He loved his family.

He was Peter Parker.

* * *

Tony looked around the living room at his penthouse. Almost the whole team was there, plus Ned, MJ, May, and Peter. He watched Peter, smiling and laughing at a story Rhodey was telling. But his laugh was quiet and his smile subdued.

He had long day today, giving his testimony to the court. May shared with Tony that ever since Peter found out about it, he had gone back a few steps. It was hard for him to go into his room again, choosing to sleep on the couch most nights, but claiming it was only because he fell asleep watching TV. Or bringing his meals into the living room because he didn’t want to stay in the kitchen longer than necessary.

But maybe now that he finally went through it, things could go back to their new normal.

And while Tony was thinking, the conversation within the group had changed and now it was Steve and Sam sharing something, each interrupting the other because facts were wrong and once in a while, Wanda actually threw in her own correction to the story.

But Peter wasn’t there anymore. The birthday boy had snuck away. Most likely to get some air. After what he had to do today, Tony wouldn’t blame him.

“Mr. Stark?”

Tony jumped a little. Peter had moved to stand next to him actually. Tony had just been too lost in his thoughts to notice. “Peter, hey,”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said with a sheepish smile and seeming to fight the urge to take a step back.

Tony shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. You enjoying your little shindig here?”

Peter nodded, a half smile on his face as he looked at everyone. “Ned’s still in awe a little and MJ’s low-key fangirling,”

Tony looked to the mentioned individuals and sure enough, Ned was star-struck as his eyes moved from one Avenger to the other. MJ was being low-key, as Peter had said, but Tony could still catch that hint of amazement in her eyes anytime Pepper said anything. It looked as if Pepper could ask for a drink and MJ would take it as gospel.

Then he looked back to Peter and saw that he was messing with his sleeves. He had something to say, but was stalling. Tony had learned to let him take his time. There would be no forcing or pulling it out of him, whatever it was.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, May making eye contact with them for a few seconds, just to reassure herself that Peter was fine, then smiling and returning to her conversation with Pepper and MJ.

“Thank you…for everything, Mr. Stark,”

Tony looked at him. “Hey, it’s your birthday. Of course I’d-“

“No,” Peter cut him off. “No, I…for _everything_. For…helping Aunt May when I was…um…well, and not…for not giving up on me,”

Tony placed a hand on his shoulder and Peter didn’t flinch. “Peter, I could never give up on you. And I hope you know that everyone in this room could never give up on you either. Hell, I don’t think Friday would let any of us,”

Peter smiled a little and shrugged. “I know. I still wanted to say thanks though,”

And Tony pulled Peter into a hug and wondered what did he ever do to have this wonderful kid become a part of his life.

* * *

Matt and Foggy would’ve gone to Peter’s birthday party if they weren’t pulling an all-nighter to prepare their closing statement. It had to be a good one to follow up the testimonies of Peter and Jerome.

Foggy was going to give the statement since Matt was much too close to the entire situation. They worked on it together of course, until Matt was satisfied.

The next day Foggy delivered it perfectly.

And it seemed as if Yvonne would get the sentence they were hoping for. Double life with no chance at parole.

Two days later, the jury was done deliberating. May and Peter were in the courtroom, along with Jerome and his parents.

The judge, who’s face was always emotionless, read the verdict, raised an eyebrow, then handed it back for the jury foreman to announce.

The jury foreman stood.

Not guilty by reason of insanity.

Not guilty.

_Not guilty._

Everything was too loud and too quiet all at once. Peter saw Jerome’s father stand and begin yelling. May was standing too, silent, but her hands clenched at her side. The judge was banging the gavel, demanding for order in the court.

Peter looked over at Jerome. Jerome was looking back at him. He looked terrified and Peter wondered if he looked the same.

Then everyone was ushered out. Yvonne was taken out and would be sent to a forensic mental hospital where she would be rehabilitated and go through another trial. Dragging this case out potentially for years.

And Peter wanted to yell to the whole world that this was not fair.

Tony was outside of the courtroom, but stood as soon as everyone came out. And he knew something was wrong.

May went up to him and she was crying and this whole thing was wrong, wrong, _wrong_.

Matt and Foggy joined them moments later and it looked as if they were all talking over each other and Tony looked mad and just down the hall were all the reporters with their flashing cameras and questions.

Then Jerome’s parents joined them. Demanding answers and wanting to know why Yvonne was given that sentence.

And it was too loud for Peter.

He found himself at the opposite end of the hallway, sitting on a bench still in view of all the adults, but far away enough to not be able to hear them. And he sat with his eyes closed and thoughts focused on the sound of his breathing.

“P-P-Peter?”

He opened his eyes and saw it was Jerome. He had taken a seat on the other end of the bench. He still looked as terrified as he did in the courtroom.

Peter offered him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re Jerome,”

He nodded.

And the two survivors sat in silence for a few moments.

“I…I st-st-st…began the fi-fire,” Jerome whispered.

Peter wondered if he always had a stutter or it was a side effect from his time with Yvonne.

“She was…” Jerome closed his eyes. “It _hurt_ a-and…I lo-lost contr-tr-control,”

And Peter understood. “I broke her hands,”

Jerome looked at him and Peter could see him making a connection. But then he nodded. He understood too.

The silence returned and they waited for the commotion down the hall to settle. Peter thought he saw Wanda in the crowd, but that didn’t make sense. Then he swore he saw her again, but it just had to be all in his head.

After what seemed a long while, Jerome’s mom walked down the hallway, motioning for Jerome that they were leaving.

“It’ll get better. I promise,” Peter told him.

A hint of a smile appeared on his face, then he left with his parents.

May walked towards him once Jerome was gone. Foggy had gone to talk to the reporters and Matt and Tony were still talking. She didn’t say anything as she sat on the bench and wrapped an arm around him.

But then there were police running down the hall and everyone turned to look as they disappeared around a corner. Tony almost followed after them, but was stopped by Matt and it looked like they were arguing before Tony pulled his arm out of Matt’s grip and went down the hallway after the police. Matt followed him begrudgingly.

And May held him just the tiniest bit closer as a particular thought came to mind.

What if Yvonne escaped?

Tony and Matt finally appeared again, the police right behind them. The police moved towards the reporters while Tony and Matt went in the opposite direction, towards May and Peter.

“Everything okay?” May asked.

Tony stuffed his hands in his pockets. “They’re not sure what happened but Yvonne’s unresponsive. She’s in some kind of catatonic state,”

Peter began wondering if maybe he really did see Wanda.

* * *

The security footage from the courthouse played on a loop. The two police standing outside of Yvonne’s cell. Then static for a few minutes. Then again, the two police standing guard, the only difference being Yvonne was now catatonic.

Tony didn’t even know where to start forming theories before Peter mentioned that he thought he saw Wanda. But it wasn’t her, because why would she be there in the first place?

He waited in the kitchen for her. She was staying at the Avengers compound and she had a routine. Herbal tea at ten to begin her two-hour bedtime routine.

And right at ten, she walked into the kitchen, only glancing at Tony before going to prep her tea. “I heard what happened today,” she started. “Can’t believe they found her not guilty,”

“Not guilty by reason of insanity. So at least there could’ve been another chance at getting her behind bars,”

She turned the kettle on and leaned against the stove. “But now she’s catatonic,”

“Yup,” Tony popped the ‘p’. “Doctor’s can’t explain what happened. One minute she’s fine and the next…” he blew a small raspberry.

Wanda gave a small hum, then turned away to grab a mug and get her tea leaves ready.

“Yeah, strangest thing,” Tony watched her movements carefully. “But the doctor’s said her rate is high for someone in a catatonic state. Almost as if she’s in a permanent nightmare,”

Still no reaction.

“And what’s even weirder is that all the security footage cut out from the time she was okay, to the time she wasn’t. Just gone. None of it can be recovered,”

Wanda turned around and Tony swore he saw traces of a smirk.

“What did you do?” Tony asked, tired of beating around the bush.

Wanda tilted her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,”

Tony rolled his eyes. “You did something. Peter saw you there. He hasn’t connected the dots yet,”

“And you have?”

Tony scoffed.

Wanda set her mug down. “There were seven of them. Seven boys she kidnapped and killed. Plus the two survivors, Peter and Jerome, that would’ve been nine,”

“What did you do?” Tony repeated his question.

Wanda crossed her arms. “I looked into her mind and made sure she received the punishment she deserved,”

“And now she’s living in a perpetual nightmare,”

“Until she dies,”

The water was beginning to boil, but the kettle hadn’t started whistling yet.

“So are you going to report me to the police? Arrest me yourself?”

Tony shook his head, standing up and pouring himself a glass of bourbon. “Peter can never know,”


	29. Chapter 29

Gary and Alice Brooks were Michael Veitch’s last foster parents. They had been fostering children for a total of five years when he came into their lives. And they always took in the children with the most baggage, but they knew Michael was different. Because anytime emotions got the best of him, cracks would appear in the surrounding glass and few times a mirror or a glass would shatter.

A month into his stay, he ran away. Took everything he owned and let them a note thanking them for their kindness, but he didn’t need their help. He could take care of himself.

Michael was fourteen.

When Tony knocked on their door, seven years had passed. They were still fostering kids. Alice was the one that opened the door. And she looked exhausted. Tony almost turned around, apologized and claimed he had the wrong house. But it’s hard to do that when you’re Tony Stark.

Gary was at work. Only Alice was there for Tony’s news. She burst into tears.

Sean Fortney had been a widower for three years. And he tried his best, but it was hard when you lost the person who pushed you through AA meetings and held you accountable. His son Benjamin was too young to assume that responsibility. And Sean tried to keep things normal, to keep things right. But jobs were hard to hold and alcohol made images of her disappointed face fade and he could pretend he didn’t know Benjamin could create an orb of glowing purple in his hands out of nothing.

Three years after becoming a widower, Benjamin ran away. They yelled and argued and Benjamin admitted he wished the roles had been reversed. That Sean had died in the accident and not his mom.

Benjamin was thirteen.

Six years later, Tony found him freshly checked out of a rehab center and a half-empty bottle of beer in his hands. And when Tony told him the news, he raised the bottle to his lips, then lowered it without taking a drink.

He thanked Tony for the information then closed the door. Tony wasn’t even off the front porch when he heard glass shattering and a guttural wail.

Anunth and Patrice Lee had five other kids plus Timothy Lee. And they never meant to have that many kids, but what were the odds that two of the pregnancies were twins and another pregnancy was not planned. But the first one was planned. Timothy was planned.

It wasn’t part of the plan for Timothy to start hearing things though. Saying phrases and sentences that no one ever actually voiced, but was a private thought only for them. No secret or fleeting thought was safe with him around and one day he heard his father call him a freak. Except it wasn’t in his father’s head, it was out loud and he called him a freak and unnatural and said if Timothy couldn’t stop it, then he was no longer welcome home.

Timothy was sixteen.

Five years later, Tony announced to Anunth that he had news about his son Timothy and Anunth announced he didn’t have a son by that name and slammed the door. But two seconds later, the door opened again and Patrice asked for the news, hope in her eyes.

She covered her mouth, stifling a sob and moving towards the nearest form of human contact. Tony’s shoulder. He patted her awkwardly, noticing in the corner of his eye, Anunth lingering behind a wall with his head down and eyes full of regret.

Russell Ashford and Maribel Diaz were divorced three years. It was finalized a year into Maribel’s twenty year prison sentence for second-degree murder of their only child, Santiago Ashford. She always insisted she was innocent, but Russell never believed her. How could he believe her when they had the evidence on video? Besides, ever since they saw Santiago’s hand slip through a closed drawer and come out holding a spoon, all the while, keeping the drawer completely closed, Maribel couldn’t understand him.

But she played the part of panicked mother well when he first went missing and then grieving to perfection when they found his body eight months later. But then the footage came out and showed that Maribel was the one to administer that fatal overdose to Santiago.

Santiago was fifteen.

Foggy accompanied Tony this time. Because Nelson and Murdock were now representing her in the new development of her case. And after four years, she walked out of the prison a free woman. Tony and Foggy met her outside the prison. And Tony was the one to explain why she was being released and what actually happened to her son. But despite this information, it would never give her back the four years she lost in prison, her marriage, or Santiago.

A day later, Tony went to Russell’s new home. When he opened the door, Tony knew from his bloodshot eyes he had already received the news.

And three months after Wanda trapped Yvonne in her own mind and found out the names of the other victims, Tony was finally done. Everyone who had been affected by Yvonne’s actions finally knew. These parents knew what happened to their sons.

Tony looked down at the list in front of him. All the names of the sons Yvonne had taken away. Starting with Michael Vietch and ending with Jacob Wright. It was time for them all to move on. No matter how difficult it might be.

He opened the drawer with all the evidence and devices he had accumulated since the beginning of this ordeal. And he cleared it out, throwing away each item. For a moment, he thought that maybe this should be turned over to the police. But the case was closed and they technically never knew Tony had any of this stuff in the first place. Why bring on preventable trouble?

With the drawer empty, he grabbed the list, folded it up, and locked it.

He was moving on, but he would never forget these names.

* * *

They had two weeks left before Thanksgiving break. And it was getting colder and the days were shorter and Peter was feeling…

He didn’t know how he was feeling.

May always kept the apartment warm and at school he never took off his sweatshirt. But when he would go outside and feel that chill in the wind, he felt…he didn’t know, but he knew he didn’t like the feeling.

He heard May one evening when she thought he was asleep. She was talking to Dr. Winslow. May thought he was depressed.

Maybe he was.

But he knew for sure he did not like feeling cold.

And then during biology, they were supposed to dissect frogs. But something went wrong with the supply and Mrs. Farre announced they would be dissecting pigeons instead. Someone called out that she meant doves. Then someone else said don’t be stupid, they were pigeons. But pigeons and doves were the same thing and when the bird was placed on Peter and Ned’s lab desk, he saw a dove.

A little dead dove.

He grabbed the trashcan by the desk and threw up.

May was at work, but Happy came and picked him up early. He told Peter not to barf in the back and ruin his seats, but Peter knew he was joking. Except he couldn’t manage a smile.

He took Peter home and offered to stay with him, but Peter said it was fine. He was just going to lay down for a little bit.

Peter managed to fall asleep, but when he woke up it was dark and someone was standing in the doorway and it was cold and his arm was tingling and he could hear something fluttering and was there a dove in his room?

But then a light turned on and it was just May. And she sat on his bed and cupped his face and asked if he was okay.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said after a few deep breaths.

And after that, things just seemed louder and it was extra cold and he considered leaving his suit on underneath his clothes just for the built-in heater.

The day right after the dove incident, Peter was going straight to the Avenger’s compound. It was already planned so it wasn’t like Mr. Stark was doing it solely to ensure Peter was okay.

But he knew the questions would come because of course he heard about what happened.

When Happy picked him up though, he told him Tony wasn’t there. Well, no, he _was_ there, he was just occupied and wouldn’t be able to meet up with Peter until later in the evening. But Peter was given free reign in the workshop and Tony told Happy to specifically ask if Peter could either upgrade Dum-ee or shut him down for good.

Peter smiled at the request, already imagining what kind of situation brought that response out from Tony.

He was in the workshop for a little over two hours on his own. And he was working with Dum-ee, but not in the way Tony would’ve wanted. He was trying to program hide and seek into the robot and add an extension into him that would allow him to fold up into tighter hiding places. But he misplaced the wrench he was using and wondered if maybe Dum-ee had hidden it and what if the coding he just did was for Dum-ee to hide other things instead of itself?

He searched through a few drawers, not finding a wrench that would fit and he pulled on it. But it was stuck and surely that meant it was filled with tools, so Peter gave another pull and heard something snap before the drawer slipped out.

But maybe it was actually locked and Peter had just broken the lock. Why would Tony have this drawer locked though? There was only a slip of paper inside of it.

And in the back of his mind, he knew that he should close it and leave it alone. But his hand reached for the paper and he unfolded.

It was a list of names.

Five names. And he recognized one of them. Jacob Wright. He heard it mentioned once after overhearing a conversation between Matt and Foggy.

He was the kid Yvonne had taken before Peter.

“Friday, what are these names for?” Peter asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“I’m sorry, Peter. You do not have access to that information,”

Peter clenched the paper with trembling hands. “They’re the ones that went before me, aren’t they?” Peter asked in a whisper. “Are they…are they all…?” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. Because he remembered how close he had been to having his name on that list.

“I’m sorry, Peter. You do not have access to that information,” Friday repeated.

Peter thought he could hear a trace of sympathy in Friday’s voice. But it wasn’t enough to make Peter put the paper back and pretend like he never saw it. Those names were forever burned into his memory.

And he wondered how Tony even found out about them in the first place.

He didn’t hear the doors slide open or the approaching footsteps. “Hey Petey, sorry about that,” Tony said. “Ridiculous business call with some investors who didn’t believe Pep was doing a good job and I had to put them in their place, but let me tell you, Pepper can hold her own and…” Tony trailed off as he realized Peter hadn’t even turned to look at him. Instead, he was studying a slip of paper.

“How did you get these names?” Peter asked quietly

And Tony cursed himself, knowing he should’ve gotten rid of that list. “Does it matter?”

Peter looked at him. And he could see in Tony’s eyes that he did not want Peter to push this. That he wanted him to forget this happened or that he found it or that Tony even had this information.

“Were there more?”

Tony shook his head.

“They…” Peter swallowed hard. “They didn’t…” He felt cold and he could remember that feeling of floating and seeing Uncle Ben and everything hurting and-

“You made it out. You made it back to us,”

Peter inhaled sharply after being pulled out of his thoughts. “I…I have to go home. I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. I-“ Peter dropped the paper and hurried out of the workshop.

* * *

Tony didn’t hear from Peter for a week. He did hear from Matt a few days after Peter found the list though. His training session with Peter had not gone well at all. He said Peter was distracted and was sniffling excessively. But when Matt suggested he go home and rest to fight off whatever sickness was trying to come on, Peter insisted he was fine.

Then Matt said he executed a move that Peter had perfected. But like he said, Peter was distracted and managed to land on his wrist. He didn’t break it again, but it was sprained.

This really was not a good time of year for Peter.

The day before Thanksgiving, he received a call from Dr. Winslow. She said she had already shared this with May, but thought he would like to know too.

Peter had survivor’s guilt.

And Tony thought they had finally moved on and Peter had been doing great and…

But with this weather and now his injured wrist and the time of the year. He was sure the memories were still too fresh and finding that list of names didn’t help the situation either.

Thanksgiving was here though and Tony was trying to push away his own memories from last year, as was everyone else. So he decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner at his penthouse. May and Peter were of course invited and the rest of the Avengers team.

The patchwork family.

May and Peter were the first to come, May smiling proudly with a pot of her meatball soup. But there was underlying tension in her smile and Tony figured out why as soon as he looked at Peter.

His wrist was wrapped in a bandage and he looked pale, constantly using the back of his sleeve or a tissue to wipe his nose.

Peter took a seat on the couch and watched a rerun of the parade from that morning. May apologized to both Tony and Pepper in the kitchen.

“I took him in yesterday to make sure he wasn’t contagious. Which he’s not. I told him we didn’t have to come and it probably would be better, but he said he wanted to and I…well, he’s had a rough couple of weeks. I couldn’t say no,”

Pepper assured her it was all right, but the only thing Tony could think about was the fact that Peter still wanted to come. He wanted to come over and that had to mean he wasn’t mad or upset with Tony about the list.

Within an hour, the penthouse was bursting with noise. Almost all the team was there, except for Clint, who was spending Thanksgiving with his family as always. The food was quickly gone, May’s soup being the first thing to disappear.

Peter ate half a bowl of soup and a few bites of turkey before pushing the rest of his food around on his plate. May was leaning over every fifteen minutes and asking Peter if he was okay or if he wanted to go lay down.

It took being asked six times before Peter finally conceded.

Some lightly teased Peter as he and May announced they were leaving. Said they didn’t want him getting too close or they would catch his germs and Peter would actually smile, directing a forced cough or sniffle in their direction.

Tony walked them to the door and thanked them for coming and gave Peter strict instructions to up his vitamin C intake and get more rest.

Peter stopped at the door though, “Mr. Stark, that list…” he swallowed hard and looked down.

Tony wasn’t sure he wanted to have this conversation.

“Do they know? The families?”

“I told them myself,”

Peter nodded. “Th-thanks,”

May wrapped an arm around Peter and the two left. Tony was sure May would question him about what that was about.

Tony hoped that meant Peter wouldn’t look into how Tony got those names. He didn’t need to know what Wanda found out in that mess of Yvonne’s mind.

He just wanted Peter to be selfish and focus on himself and his own journey to healing.

* * *

Peter’s cold was persistent. Tony wanted to run a few tests since this cold meant Peter’s immune system was not working the way it was supposed to. But Dr. Winslow advised against it. She said this was normal. Not ideal, but normal. Because a year ago, Peter was with Yvonne. Stuck in that room, told he was someone else, and that no one but Yvonne cared about him.

This was a trauma that would take _years_ for Peter to recover from.

Tony hated that he couldn’t sped up the process. And for half a second, he consider asking if Wanda could do a mind wipe on him. But that was dangerous and would it technically be fair? After everything that happened, to just wipe Peter's mind of more than half a years worth of memories?

It didn’t help that Matt had dropped off the face of the earth. Foggy said an old ex was in town and there was bad history there and Tony didn’t want to know and he didn’t want Peter getting mixed up in whatever it was.

At least Peter was functioning. He was doing good in school, passing all his classes, still participating in decathalon, hanging out with Ned and MJ, and still patrolling as Spiderman. And May knew Peter was trying to behave the way he thought he should be. Of course, when she talked to Tony about this, she always said she was worried.

He didn’t mention he was worried about it too.

Christ, they were always going to worry about him now, weren't they?

But it was always the case that after Thanksgiving, the days flew by and it was Christmas now.

Tony wasn’t sure how that happened.

He was spending the day at the Avengers Compound with the rest of the team, just milling around, reminiscing on past Christmases and different missions and it seemed like for once, the world could take care of itself for just one day.

May and Peter showed up later in the evening. They brought gifts and Tony made a mental note to cover May’s bills for a month or two, ignoring the voice in his head that told him she would reject the offer.

Peter seemed to be in a better mood today, offering faint smiles to everyone and making a spot for himself on the couch in the common room.

Eggnog and hot chocolate was passed around, stories continued and _It’s a Wonderful Life_ played in the background with only Steve actually paying attention to the movie. But once the movie ended, Steven turned his attention to a conversation between Clint and Sam.

No one noticed Peter get up to grab one of the controls for the Nintendo console. He turned it on, settled back into the couch, blew his nose once, and played the last game that had been loaded.

Mario Kart.

Even with the volume low, Tony immediately turned to the TV as soon as he heard the theme song for the game. He noticed that Clint had faltered in his story too, turning to look at the TV, then briefly making eye contact with Tony.

Because the last time they heard the Mario Kart music was when May called over a year ago.

Tony wanted to shut it off, push away the memories that flooded his mind. Instead, he grabbed the other controller and wedged himself in the small space between Peter and Rhodey, ignoring complaints from the latter.

The high scores were on the screen. And Peter’s scores were still on the board. Peter looked at Tony with a grin. “Couldn’t beat my scores?”

Tony leaned over and pushed a button on Peter’s controller, starting up a two-player race. “It’s going to be a whole lot more fun destroying you and watching the look on your face,”

Peter’s grin grew into one of those rare smiles.

Yeah, things were going to be okay. And they were always going to work towards making them better too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are, at the end of this crazy ride. Thank you all who reviewed and kudos!! Seriously, every single one of you made me want to finish this story and encouraged me to keep writing. I have new ideas jumping around for this fandom and maybe even a one-shot exploring one last idea for this story. Thank you all for sticking with me to the very end! Much love my dears and remember to always take care of yourself and be kind to one another <3


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